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THE 


BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE, 


CELEBRATED    AT 


PITTSFIELD,    MASS. 


AUGUST  22  AND  23, 1844. 


ALBANY : 

WEARE.  C.  LITTLE. 

E.  P.  LITTLE,  PITTSFIELD. 

1845. 


[F.ntercil  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S45,  by 

E.  P.  LITTLE, 

in  the  Clerk's  ollicc  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Northern  District  of  New-York.] 


C.    V.*N    BF.NTHUTSF.N  AND  CO.    PniNTKRS,    AI.BAWy. 


F 
12, 

T?4  H^5 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Sons  of  Berksliire,  at  the  close  of  the  Jubilee, 
August  23,  1844,  Judge  Betts  presiding,  it  was  voted  unanimously. 

That  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  presented  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkins, 
to  Joshua  A.  Spencer,  Esq.,  and  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Allen,  for  their  able 
and  acceptable  performances,  consisting  of  a  Sermon,  Oration  and  Poem, 
and  that  they  be  respectfully  requested  to  furnish  a  copy  of  the  same  for  pub- 
lication. 

Voted,  That  a  committee  be  now  raised  to  superintend  and  publish  a 
Book  containing  the  proceedings  of  this  Jubilee,  including  the  Speeches, 
Odes,  Hymns  and  Sentiments,  and  such  other  matter  as  (hey  may  deem  pro- 
per, and  at  as  early  a  day  as  convenient. 

Voted,  That  this  committee  consist  of  the  following  gentlemen,  viz : 
The  Rev.  J.  TODD, 
"      "    E.  BALLARD, 

CHARLES  SEDGWICK,  Esq., 
WILLIAM  C.  BRYANT,  Esq., 

HENRY  L.  SABIN,  M.  D. 
(Attest,) 

Jabies  D.  Colt,  2d, 

Secretary. 


IITRODUCTIOI. 


Berkshire  is  the  large  Avestern  county  of  Massachu- 
setts, extending  from  Connecticut  to  Vermont,  some- 
thing like  fifty  miles  in  length,  and  containing  somewhat 
over  forty  thousand  inhabitants.  On  the  east  lie  the 
Green  Mountains,  which  shut  it  away  from  the  rest  of 
Massachusetts.  On  the  west  are  the  Tasrhcannic 
Mountains,  which  separate  it  from  New-York.  It  is  a 
region  of  hill  and  valley,  mountain  and  lake,  beauti- 
ful rivers  and  laughing  brooks  —  the  very  Piedmont  of 
America.  Till  the  rail-road  Avas  completed,  and  the  iron 
horse  came  puffing  and  snorting  up  over  these  moun- 
tains, Berkshire  had  very  little  intercourse  with  the 
rest  of  "  the  Old  Bay  State."  Most  of  its  busmess  was 
done  at  New-York,  while  with  New-York  people  it  had 
none  but  a  business  intercourse.  A  community  thus 
secluded,  and  educated  amid  sceneiy  surpassingly 
lovely,  breathing  the  mountain  air,  and  drinking  the 
waters  which  flow  in  thousands  of  rills  down  their 
mountain  sides,  till  they  form  the  Housatonic  or 
"  river  of  the  hills,"  —  must  love  the  home  of  child- 
hood. For  the  last  fifty  years,  Berkshire  has  been 
constantly  sending  out  her  sons  and  daughters  to 
other  parts  of  the  land  to  find  new  homes.  In  the 
meantime  her  own  College  has  grown  up,  officered 
almost  wholly  by  her  own  sons,  till  its  name  is  among 
the  very  first  in  the  land,  and  the  old  homestead  has 
been  steadily  advancing  in  wealth,  enterprise,  educa. 


IN  rUODICTION. 


tioii  :iii<l  iiMM-al.s.  One  of  llic  ol(l(.'s1  towns  lias  just 
cclcbrat.d  its  conlniiiial  anniversary.  Probably  it 
would  !)••  inij)ossil)l('  to  find  a  county  in  the  whole 
land  in  which  flicn-  is  more  of  the  home  feeling  than 
in  Berkshire;  and  wherever  you  go,  if  you  can  hail 
from  this  "  garden  of  the  Bay  State,"  you  are  sure  to 
find  a  warm  welcome.  Her  sons  are  everywhere  fill- 
ing the  highest  posts  of  influence  and  respectability. 
No  less  than  eight  of  these  sons  have  been  in  Con- 
gress at  the  same  time,  and  we  believe  the  same  num- 
ber were  on  the  Bench  as  Judges  in  a  neighboring 
State,  at  the  same  time.  Scattered  over  the  land, 
these  emigrant  sons  have  ever  yearned  towards  the 
homes  of  their  fathers.  By  a  sort  of  electrical  excite- 
ment they  seemed  ripe  for  a  gathering  at  once.  A 
committee  was  raised  in  New-York  to  correspond  with 
a  similar  committee  in  the  county,  and  to  make  prepa- 
rations for  celebrating  a  Jubilee. 

The  following  letter,  addressed  to  a  gentleman  in 
Pittsfield,  was  the  first  received  from  the  committee 
in  New- York. 

New-Ycrk,  Ju.n'E,  16,  1843. 

Del\r  Sir — We  have  recently  had  a  meeting  here 
of  the  native  and  former  residents  of  Berkshire  county, 
to  deliberate  on  the  question  whether  it  is  best  to 
end(\ivor  to  call  home,  at  some  spot  in  the  county  this 
summer,  those  who  have  migrated  from  this  favored 
locality,  for  the  purpose  of  renewing  acquaintance  and 
strengthening  our  attachments  to  our  natal  soil. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  inquire  of  the  pre- 
sent residents  in  the  county  what  they  would  think  of 
such  a  movement.  It  has  been  suggested  that  we 
liave  a  sermon,  a  pom,  an  oration  and  a  dinner,  or  great 
tea  party,  where  we  may  talk  ad  libitum. 


INTRODUCTION.  » 

Allow  me,  as  one  of  the  committee,  to  ask  you  to 
think  of  this  matter  and  consult  others  around  you, 
and  then  give  us  your  counsel.  The  main  points  on 
which  we  want  information  are  these :  — 

1.  Is  such  a  social  gathering  desirable  and  practica- 
ble in  itself? 

2.  Would  the  citizens  of  the  county  take  an  interest 
in  such  a  meeting  ? 

3.  If  yea,  ivhen  and  lohere  should  the  meeting  be 
held  ? 

4.  What,  in  your  judgment,  should  be  the  exercises 
of  the  occasion  ? 

That  such  a  meeting  at  some  time  would  be  attended 

with  pleasing  and  useful  results,  I  can  hardly  question. 

It  would  make  that  old  American  Piedmont  (Berkshire 

county)  still  more  honorable  and  influential  than  she 

now  is. 

Yours  truly, 

J.  C.  BRIGHAM. 

On  receiving  this  first  communication  from  the  New- 
York  committee,  the  following  answer  was  returned. 
It  was  addressed  to  the  committee,  and  is  inserted 
because  it  explains  the  origin  of  the  Jubilee,  and  the 
feelings  and  views  of  those  who  moved  in  it. 

PiTTSFiELD,  June  19, 1843. 

Dear  Sir  —  At  a  very  respectable  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  this  place,  a  letter  from  yourself,  addressed 
to  one  of  our  number,  in  relation  to  a  meeting  of  the 
former  residents  of  Berkshire  county,  to  be  held  in  the 
county  at  the  present  or  following  season,  was  com- 
municated. 

After  a  discussion,  in  which  all  the  bearings  of  the 
subject  were  seen,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  that 
such  a  meeting  is  highly  desirable,  and  the  following 


JO  INTROmrTION. 

j^ontlomon  wore  rlioscn  a  commiltoo  to  address  the 
rorninitt.T  in  Nrw-York,  viz:  Ucv.  John  Todd,  Thom- 
as il  Sthon(;,  .rn.rrs  Rockwkll,  Lemuel  Pomeroy, 
Jason  Viavw  .fAMi;s  I).  CIolt,  E.  R.  Colt,  Edward  A. 
Newton,  Rfv.  Edward  Ballard,  GEORfiE  N.  Brigos,  H. 
H.  ('iiiM>-.  INiiMius  Ar.u-.N,  O.  P.  Dickinson,  and  Thom- 
as A.  (Ii)i.i). 

In  complinncc  with    this  resolution  and  in  accor- 
dance witli  our  instructions,  as  well  as  our  own  feel- 
inj^s,  we  hei,^  leave  to  tender  our  congratulations  that 
such  a  meeting  is  in  contemplation.     In  every  point 
of  view  in  which  we  look  at  it,  we  feel  that  such  a 
meeting  must  be  highly  interesting  at  the  time,  and 
no  less  useful  in  its  results.     The  sons  of  old  Massa- 
chusetts have  reason  to  revere  and  love  their  native 
soil.     She  was  the  mother  and  the  nurse  of  a  mighty 
nation.     In  the  very  cradle,  her  children  had  to  fight 
the  battles,  and  use  the  wisdom,  of  mature  manhood. 
And  wliile  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans  who  landed 
on  her  rocky  coast  have  gone  abroad,  and  amount  to 
nearly  five  millions  of  souls,  she  holds  on  her  way 
with  her  soil  trodden  by  the  free,  and  the  air  of  her 
beautiful  mountains  still  breathed  by  a  noble  race  of 
men.     Her  hills,  her  valleys,  and  her  laughing  streams 
remain  as  they  were,  save  that  the  former  are  greatly 
beautified    by  the  hand  of  man,  and   the  latter   are 
pressed  into  his  service  and  made  the  source  of  in- 
creasing]: wealth.     Her  Saxon  hand,  too,  hath  opened 
a  path  through  her  mountains  of  rock,  and  the  iron 
liorse  climbs  up  and  goes  down  what  once  seemed  to 
be  almost  impassable  barriers  of  nature. 

But  that  which  is  the  pride  of  Massachusetts  is  her 
sons  and  her  daughters.  They  constitute  her  glory, 
whether  they  remain  here  to  beautify  and  enrich  the 
old  homestead,  or  whether  they  go  out  to  expend  their 


INTRODUCTION.  U 

indomitable  energies  under  sunnier  skies  and  on  richer 
plains.  Among  these,  Berkshire  has  furnished  her  full 
share  —  sons  who  would  honor  any  parent.  These  we 
should  rejoice  to  see  gathered  in  the  bosom  of  their 
mother,  to  hold  a  day  of  congratulations  and  sweet 
reflections.  We  love  these  sons  and  daughters  none 
the  less  because  they  have  gone  from  us,  and  we  Avish 
to  have  the  home  of  their  childhood  live  green  in  their 
memories.  We  would  bind  them  through  their  affec- 
tions, to  the  place  of  their  birth,  and  have  their  me- 
mories linger  among  these  scenes,  and  their  hearts 
warm  at  the  thought  of  their  early  homes.  The  chain 
that  binds  them  to  us  is  more  than  golden,  and  we 
would  have  its  links  grow  brighter  and  stronger. 

We  would  cordially  respond  to  your  proposal,  then, 
and  in  the  name  of  our  fellow-citizens,  and  at  their 
unanimous  request,  respectfully  invite  your  committee 
to  call  such  a  meeting,  to  be  held  at  Pittsiield,  at  as 
early  a  day  as  possible. 

Of  the  convenience  and  suitableness  of  holding  the 
meeting  here,  we  need  not  speak.  In  making  this 
invitation  we  are  certain  that  we  express  the  mind 
and  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town,  while  we 
most  cordially  invite  the  meeting  to  share  our  hospi- 
tality, to  command  our  aid,  and  to  feel  that  they  come 
among  none  but  warm  friends. 

While  we  thus  extend  this  invitation  and  express  it 
as  our  opinion  that  this  is  the  most  convenient  and 
suitable  place,  we  trust  we  should  be  not  the  less  ready 
to  co-operate,  should  your  committee  judge  otherwise. 

We  would  respectfully  suggest  to  your  committee 
that  they  immediately  fix  upon  the  time  and  place ; 
that  they  make  the  invitation  as  general  through  the 
papers  and  as  particular  by  letter,  as  possible;  that 
they  have  the  meeting  long  enough  to  secure  the  ends 

B 


12  INTKODUCTION. 

pnijHisrd  ;  ih.'it  tliry  appoint  a  committee  of  arrange- 
iiHMits  ill  thr  county,  to  .see  that  all  things  are  ready 
and  thr  whole  county  is  moved  to  the  gathering;  that 
among  the  exercises  there  be  a  sermon,  an  oration  and 
a  poi'in  in  public;  a  j)ublic  dinner  or  hirge  tea  party 
at  which  our  mothers,  wives  and  daughters  may  be 
present,  and  at  wliich  one  poem  shall  be  recited  and 
extemporary  speeches  made,  &c.,  and  that  the  com- 
mittee should  invite  and  receive  suitable  hymns  to  be 
sung ;  such  original  poetry  we  mean,  as  we  doubt  not 
would  l)(^  oifered  in  [ibundance,  and  of  a  quality  that 
is  too  high  for  praise. 

We  would  have  it  an  occasion  of  deep,  cherished 
joy,  such  as  will  move  Old  Berkshire  —  the  memory 
of  which  will  thrill  in  after  days;  and  we  hope  it  will 
be  every  way  worthy  her  glorious  soil  and  of  her  sons 
and  daughters.  Let  it  be  the  lighting  of  a  beacon  on 
these  hills  that  will  show  that  the  watch-tower  of 
aftection  is  still  tenanted,  and  that  the  flame  of  love 
has  not  yet  begun  to  grow  pale. 

Ill  the  name  of  our  fellow-citizens  we  tender  you 
our  high  regards. 

In  behalf  of  the  committee, 

J.  TODD,  Chairman. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  citizens  of  the  different 
towns  in  the  county,  the  above  committee,  much  en- 
larged, were  elected  as  the  County  Committee,  and 
after  correspondence  with  the  gentlemen  of  New-York, 
it  was  finally  settled  that  the  Jubilee  should  be  held; 
that  Pittsfield  should  be  the  place ;  and  that  the  22d 
and  2:Jd  of  August,  1844,  should  be  the  time.  The 
arrangements  finally  made  were,  that  on  Thursday, 
the  22d,  the  committee  from  New-York  and  the  county 
committee  should  meet  at  the  Town  Hall,  at  eleven 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

o'clock,  A.M.,  where  greetings  and  courtesies  shall  be 
passed.  The  preparations  to  receive  the  new  comers 
were, 

1.  Every  house,  table,  room,  and  chamber  in  Pitts- 
field  was  to  be  at  the  service  of  the  guests,  and  even 
in  the  neighboring  towns  the  same  was  done.  No 
pains,  time,  or  money  was  spared  in  making  the  fires 
burn  brightly  on  the  hearth-stones  of  each  family. 
This  part,  like  many  others,  cannot  be  printed. 

2.  Preparations  were  made  to  have  the  stranger- 
guests  call  on  the  citizens  of  Pittsfield  without  cere- 
mony, and  meet  old  faces  as  they  passed  from  house 
to  house. 

3.  A  register  was  prepared  in  which  the  emigrant 
sons  of  Berkshire  might  insert  their  names,  time  of  liv- 
ing in  the  county,  present  place  of  abode,  or  any  other 
memoranda. 

4.  A  stand  and  seats  sufficient  to  contain  between 
three  and  four  thousand  people,  was  erected  on  a  beau- 
tiful hill  just  west  of  the  village,  and  which  command- 
ed an  enchanting  view  in  all  directions.  "  The  river 
of  the  hills,"  (Housatonic,)  kissed  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
while  the  lofty  "  Grey  Lock  "  on  the  north,  seemed  to 
look  down  upon  us  as  if  he  was  the  stern  guardian  of 
the  valley,  and  father  of  all  the  beautiful  mountains 
which  lay  around. 

5.  The  Rev.  Mark  Hopkins,  D.D.,  President  of  Wil- 
liams College,  was  appointed  to  greet  the  returning 
sons  and  daughters  in  a  sermon. 

6.  The  Hon.  Joshua  A.  Spencer,  of  Utica,  was  ap- 
pointed to  deliver  an  oration. 

7.  Music,  secular  and  sacred,  was  provided.  Odes 
and  songs  had  been  written  in  great  abundance,  and 
of  superior  excellence.     One  of  the  first  bands  in  the 


14  INTROni.CTlON. 

roimtn'  was  secured  and  [)n)iiuli1  on  the  ground  for 
the  oeeasioii. 

H.  A  poem  was  as.sin;ned  to  tlie  Rev.  William  Allen, 
D.U.,  of  Northampton,  and  also  minor  poems  to  others 
of  acknowledged  poetical  talents. 

0.   Provision  was  made  for  speeches,  sentiments,  &c. 

10.  A  dinner,  (at  which  his  Excellency,  Governor 
BRiGiis,  was  to  preside,)  all  dres.sed  and  cooked  in  Bos- 
ton, and  transported  with  all  neces.sary  furniture  on  the 
rail-road,  was  provided  on  the  delightful  grounds  for- 
merly known  as  "the  Military  grounds,"  and  now 
occupied  hy  the  Young  Ladies'  Institute.  The  tables 
were  spread  under  a  canopy,  and  capable  of  seating 
over  three  thousand  people.  The  whole  to  be  con- 
ducted on  the  strictest  principles  of  the  temperance 
reformation,  sobriety,  cheerful  and  dignified  friendship. 

Such  were  the  measures  adopted  to  welcome  hearts 
that  had  been  throbbing  at  the  thought  of  the  gather- 
ing all  over  the  United  States.  In  every  part  of  the 
land  little  plans  had  been  laid  by  which  to  bring  fami- 
lies and  friends  together,  and  have  friendship  renew 
the  oil  in  her  lamps.  It  was  to  be  the  gathering  of  a 
great  family. 

It  now  remains  to  conduct  the  reader  through  the 
various  services  of  the  occasion,  and  give  him  the 
opportunity  to  partake  of  the  mental  productions 
which  the  Jubilee  called  out.  The  Jubilee  itself  cannot 
be  printed  or  described.  At  the  urgent  request  of  many, 
though  at  the  expense  of  typographical  beauty,  the 
several  exercises  will  be  inserted  in  the  order  of  their 
occurrence,  so  that  they  may,  as  far  as  possible,  by 
association,  bring  back  to  the  memory  of  those  who 
were  present,  the  pleasurable  emotions  then  enjoyed. 


COMMITTEES. 


NEW- YORK  COMMITTEE. 


SAMUEL  R.  BETTS, 
MARSHALL  S.  BIDWELL, 
J.  C.  BRIG  HAM, 
D.  D.  FIELD, 
R.  S.  COOK, 

THEODORE  SEDGWICK, 
WILLIAM  C.  BRYAKT, 
ORVILLE  DEWEY, 
RUSSEL  C.  WHEELER, 


MASON  NOBLE, 
THOMAS  EGLESTON, 
ROBERT    CENTER, 
H.  P.  PEET, 
JOSEPH  HYDE, 
RUEL  SMITH, 
DRAKE  MILLS, 
EDWARD  WILLIAMS, 
WILLIAM  SHERWOOD. 


COMMITTEES  IN  BERKSHIRE. 


ORIGINAL    COMMITTEE    OF    FOURTEEN  : 


Rev.  JOHN  TODD, 

THOMAS  B.  STRONG, 
JULIUS   ROCKWELL, 
LEMUEL  POMEROY, 
JASON  CLAPP, 
JAMES  D.  COLT, 
E.  R.  COLT, 


EDWARD  A.  NEWTON, 
Rev.  EDWARD  BALLARD, 
GEORGE  N.  BRIGGS, 
H.  H.  CHILDS, 
PHINEHAS  ALLEN, 
0.  P.  DICKINSON, 
THOMAS  A.  GOLD. 


The  following  gentlemen  were  subsequently  added  to  the  above  Committee: 


EZEKIEL  BACON, 
NATHAN  WILLIS, 
HOSEA  MERRILL,  Jr., 
THOMAS  F.  PLUNKETT, 
JAMES  ROOT, 
ELIJAH  ROB  BINS, 
JOHN  WELLER, 
ABEL  WEST, 
HENRY  ROOT, 
JARED  INGERSOLL, 
THEODORE  HINSDALE, 
JABEZ  PECK, 
RICHARD  C.  COGSWELL, 
PARKER  L.    HALL, 
TITUS  GOODMAN, 
JAMES  FRANCIS, 
CHARLES  CHURCHILL, 


JAMES  D.  COLT,  2(1, 
THEODORE  POMEROY, 
HENRY  COLT, 
THADDEUS  CLAPP, 
GEORGE  S.  WILLIS, 
PHINEHAS  ALLEN,  Jr., 
ROBERT  COLT, 
WM.  M.  WALKER, 
DAVID  CAMPBELL, 
E.  P.  LITTLE, 
GEORGE  P.   BRIGGS, 
GORDON  McKAY, 
TIMOTHY  CHILDS, 
CHARLES  BUSH, 
ROBERT  POMEROY, 
ALANSON  P.  DEAN, 
EDWIN  CLAPP, 


Ifi  COMMITTKES. 

HAMI'KI.  A.CHUUCIIILL,  CALVIN  MARTIN, 

KTHAN  JANKS,  DMVKIl  S.  ROOT, 

OTIS  PKCK,  (iKORGE  W.  CAMPBELL, 

HENRY  Hl'nnARD,  R0I5ERT  CAMPBELL, 

WALTER  LAFLFN,  FRANKLIN  ROOT, 

ENSIGN  H.  KELLOGG,  ROBERT  FRANCIS,  Jr. 


AUXILIARY  TOWN  COMMITTEES. 

LEMUEL  POMEROY,  Pittsfield. 
HENRY  H.  CHILDS,  " 

CHARLES  SEDGWICK,  Lenox. 
HENRY  W.  BISHOP, 
HORATIO  BYINGTON,  Stockbridge. 
EDWARD  BURRALL,  " 

INCREASE  SUMNER,  Great  Barrington. 
WASHINGTON  ADAMS,        " 
EDWARD  R.  ENSIGN,  Sheffield. 
ARETAS  RISING,  " 

GEORGE  HULL,  Sandisfield. 
LESTER  FILLEY,  Otis. 
SETH  J.  NORTON,  New  Marlborough. 
WILBUR  CURTIS,  Egremont. 
SAMUEL  GATES,  West  Stockbridge. 
WILLIAM  BACON,  Richmond. 
DocT.  FREELAND,  Becket. 
WILLIAM  E    BRAYTON,  Adams. 
THOMAS  ROBINSON,  " 

FRANKLIN  0.  SAYLES,  South  Adams. 
R.  PICKET,  Alford. 
RUSSELL  BROWN,  Cheshire. 
JOHN  CHAMBERLIN,   Dalton. 
MONROE  EMMONS,  Hiasdale. 
ASAHEL  BUCK,  Jr.,  Lanesborough. 
OLIVER  NASH,  Peru. 
SNELLUM  BABBIT,  Savoy. 
SAMUEL  FARGO,  Jr.,  Tyringham. 
PHILIP  FAMES,  AVashington.^ 
DANIEL  N.  DEWEY,  Williamstown 
ASAHEL  FOOT,  Jr.,  " 

WILLIAM  PORTER,  Jr.,  Lee. 
ALEXANDER  HYDE, 
RODMAN  HAZARD,  Hancock. 
SILAS  M.  GARDNER.        " 
PHINEHAS  HARMON,  N.  Ashford. 
DANIEL  MOWREY,  Florida. 
Maj.  RICE,  Clarksburgh. 
IRA  CHUTT,  Mt.  Washington. 
C.  BALDWIN,  Windsor. 


COMMITTEES. 

FINANCIAL  COMMITTEE. 

JULIUS  ROCKWELL, 
ENSIGN  H.  KELLOGG, 
PHINEHAS  ALLEN,  Jr. 

COMMITTEE  OF  RECEPTION. 

THOMAS  A.  GOLD, 
O.  S.  ROOT, 
E.  R.  COLT, 
GEORGE  P.  BRIGGS, 
ROBERT  COLT. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  JUBILEE. 

president: 
His  Excellencv  Gov.  BRIGGS. 


17 


vice-presidents  : 


HENRY  H.  CHILDS, 
GEORGE  HULL, 
EZEKIEL  BACON, 
SAMUEL  R.  BETTS, 
DODDRIDGE  CROCKER, 
MARSHALL  S.  BIDWELL, 
WM.  P.  WALKER, 
CHARLES  A.  DEWEY, 
NATHAN  WILLIS, 
JOHN  WHITING, 
LEMUEL  POMEROY, 
CYRUS  STOWELL, 
EDWARD  A.  NEWTON, 
JOSIAH  Q.  ROBINSON, 
PHINEHAS  ALLEN, 
RUSSELL  BROWN, 
HENRY  HUBBARD, 
SAMUEL  ROSSITER, 
WILBUR  CURTISS, 
HENRY  W.  BISHOP, 
JAMES  D.   COLT, 
KEYES  DANFORTH, 
JOHN  MILLS, 
OLIVER  P.  COLT, 


CALVIN  MARTIN, 
RODMAN  HAZARD, 
JASON  CLAPP, 
ISAAC  HILLS, 
CHARLES  SEDGWICK, 
JOHN  CHAMBERLIN, 
HARVEY  P.  PEET, 
JAMES  LARNED, 
WILLIAM  PORTER,  Jr., 
DANIEL  N.  DEWEY, 
HORATIO  BYINGTON, 
THOMAS  ROBINSON, 
LESTER  FILLEY, 
INCREASE   SUMNER, 
PARKER  L.  HALL, 
HOMER  BARTLETT, 
EDWARD  STEVENS, 
SAMUEL  GATES, 
ELEAZER  WILLIAMS, 
JOS.  QUINCY, 
THOMAS  F.  PLUNKETT, 
JONATHAN  ALLEN, 
DIODATUS  NOBLE. 


chaplains: 
Rev.  S.  SHEPARD,  D.D.,  Rev.  JOHN  ALDEN, 

Rev.  JAMES  BRADFORD,  Rev.  D.  D.  WIIEEDON. 

Rev.  SAMUEL  B.  SHAW, 


FIRST  DAY. 

AUG.  22. 

RECEPTION    MEETING 


An  informal  meeting  of  the  emigrant  sons  and  the  present  residents  of  the 
County,  took  place  at  the  Town  Hall,  at  11  o'clock,  A.IM.  Mr.  Todd, 
Chairman  of  the  County  Committee,  called  the  meeting  to  order,  stated  the 
arrangements  which  had  been  made,  and  introduced  Thomas  A.  Gold, 
Esq,,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Reception  to  the  New  York  Committee. 
Mr.  Gold  welcomed  our  friends  as  follows: 

Fellow-Citizens,  Sons  of  Berkshire  from  abroad  : 

Brethren — As  we  meet  on  this  unprecedented  and  joyful  oc- 
casion, let  us  gratefully  acknowledge  the  beneficent  hand  of  Provi- 
dence. It  is  with  no  common  emotion  of  satisfaction  and  happi- 
ness, as  the  organ  of  the  Reception  Committee,  and  in  behalf  of  the 
natives  and  citizens  of  Berkshire,  I  tender  to  you  our  most  sincere 
and  heart-felt  congratulations.  We  meet  you  with  open  doors  and 
open  hearts  and  wide  stretched  arms,  to  welcome  you  to  your  na- 
tive soil. 

Welcome,  thrice  welcome,  brethren  of  old  Berkshire,  to  all  the 
hospitality  and  friendship  which  we,  who  have  been  spared  to  oc- 
cupy the  old  domain,  can  bestow  on  you  and  yours.  It  is  a  cir- 
cumstance of  momentous  import  with  your  brethren  at  home,  to 
have  witnessed  in  their  brethren  from  abroad,  that  fraternal  at- 
tachment to  the  places  of  their  nativity  which  suggested  this  happy 
— this  eventful  meeting.  Let  that  spirit,  and  that  heaven-born 
feeling  that  prompted  it,  kindle  with  increasing  and  permanent 
ardor,  devotion  and  sincerity,  and  may  it  endure  so  long  as  the 
beautiful  hills  of  Berkshire  shall  retain  their  verdure,  and  the  in- 
numerable fountains  upon  them  (emblematic  of  our  friendship,) 
continue  to  throw  out  their  pure  and  sparkling  streams,  that  render 

'    C 


0()  BERKSIIIRF.   JUBILEE. 

our  swrct  vale  the  most  dclicjhtful  spot  on  earth.  What  though 
aniou^'  the  Iar<Tc  nurnhcr  of  Ik-rkshire's  sons  who  have  emigrated 
to  other  states  and  other  kingdoms,  there  may  be  found  (as  the 
common  allotment  of  man,)  here  and  there  a  fallen  spirit,  we  say 
to  you  come,  to  all,  come,  "  the  fatted  calf  is  killed  ;"  come,  all 
things  are  ready;  come,  drink  at  the  pure  fountains  of  Old  Berk- 
shire, that  require  nothing  artificial  to  make  them  sweeter  or  more 
palatable,  and  drink  deeper  at  the  fountain  of  love  and  good  feel- 
ing that  shall  gush  forth  on  this  joyful  occasion.  This  convoca- 
tion is  calculated  naturally  to  awaken  mingled  feelings  of  sorrow 
and  of  joy;  for  who  among  us  can  fail  to  remember  our  fathers 
and  brothers  who  are  not  with  us,  but  whom  we  hope  to  meet  on 
an  occasion  infinitely  more  joyous  than  this. 

When  we  advert  to  the  bright  side  of  the  picture  in  our  histori- 
cal contemplations,  well  may  we  indulge  an  honest  pride,  and 
without  charge  of  vanity,  speak  of  the  noble  deeds  and  virtuous 
doings  of  Berkshire's  noble  sons  in  other  states  and  other  countries. 
You  would  not  perhaps  bear  with  me  on  this  topic,  in  the  gratifi- 
cation of  my  own  feelings,  should  I  dwell  on  those  characters,  the 
honor  and  pride  of  Old  Berkshire,  who  have  honored  us  and  them- 
selves more  in  their  successful  exertions  to  ameliorate  and  improve 
the  condition  of  man,  very  many  of  whom  as  a  partial  reward  of 
merit,  have  been  elevated  to  or  yet  hold  high  stations  in  the  gift 
of  the  people,  and  many  more  who  have  been  deservedly  distin- 
guished in  ethics,  history,  poetry,  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  the 
"  literary  world."  In  all  these  particulars,  no  State  or  section  of 
country  has  been  more  highly  blessed,  or  the  character  of  Berk- 
shire elevated  by  her  worthy  sons,  than  our  neighboring  State  of 
'  New-York.  Brethren,  it  is  not  surprising  that  you  should  feel 
desirous  to  return  to  greet  us  with  your  good  feelings,  and  shed 
down  upon  us  the  influence  of  your  virtues  and  honors.  To  all 
this  you  will  meet  a  sincere  response.  Glorious  event!  Let  it 
have  its  legitimate  influence  in  reviving  and  perpetuating  a  deeper 
interest  in  our  individual  welfares,  and  it  shall  be  a  bright  spot  in 
the  history  of  our  country — be  productive  of  increasing  joy  and 
happiness  in  all  coming  time — an  example  worthy  of  imitation, 
and  thus  shall  it  tend  to  unite  and  bless  our  whole  nation. 


RECEPTION    MEETING.  21 

The  Rev.  R.  S.  Cook,  of  the  New-York  Committee,  responded  to  the  ad 
dress  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Reception,  nearly  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Berkshire  Committee  : 

The  duty  of  acknowledging  the  kind  and  cordial  welcome  you 
have  extended  to  the  sons  of  Berkshire,  was  assigned  to  the  dis- 
tinguished Chairman  of  our  committee,  the  Hon.  Judge  Betts.  In 
his  unexpected  detention,  I  am  called  upon  by  my  associates  to 
perform  the  pleasing  task. 

The  occasion  which  has  assembled  us,  is  believed  to  be  altogether 
unique.  The  elements  of  interest  differ  widely  from  those  which 
enter  into  the  ordinary  gatherings  of  the  people.  No  sectarian  or 
partizan  zeal;  no  selfish  or  ambitious  purpose  has  called  us  from 
our  business  and  our  homes.  We  have  left  all  political  prejudices 
and  animosities,  and  all  business,  cares  and  troubles  behind  us,  and 
have  devoted  these  few  days  to  social  and  patriotic  feeling.  We 
have  come  from  the  mountains  of  the  north  and  the  plains  of  the 
south  ;  from  the  cities  of  the  east  and  the  prairies  of  the  west ; 
from  the  four  quarters  of  the  land  we  have  come  to  our  Berkshire 
home^  to  revive  the  friendships  and  associations  of  boyish  years, 
and  live  over  again  in  memory  and  imagination,  the  days  of  our 
youth.  From  the  plough  and  the  shop;  from  the  counter  and  the 
office;  from  the  bar  and  the  bench;  from  the  walls  of  learning  and 
of  legislation;  from  the  field  of  benevolent  enterprise  and  from  the 
pulpit,  we  have  come.  We  have  come  to  revisit  the  old  home- 
stead; to  drink  from  the  old  oaken  bucket;  to  gather  fruit  from  the 
old  orchard  and  berry  field;  to  catch  the  speckled  trout  from  the 
old  mountain  brook;  to  hunt  the  squirrel  and  the  partridge  in  the 
same  old  forest;  to  climb  the  same  old  hills  and  mountains,  and 
breathe  the  pure  exhilerating  Berkshire  air.  We  have  come  to 
look  again  upon  the  old  red  school-house  and  the  academy  and 
the  college,  where  many  of  us  received  the  rudiments  or  the  more 
advanced  stages  of  the  education  which  has  fitted  us  for  our  vari- 
ous stations  in  life.  We  have  come  to  take  our  place  in  the  old 
meeting-house,  and  to  perform  a  pilgrimage  of  affection  to  the 
graves  of  the  loved  ones  of  other  days.  But  "  the  fathers,"  where 
are  they  ?  Where  are  the  venerable  pastors — the  Catlins  and 
Aliens  and  Hydes  of  our  youthful  days  1  And  where  the  Walkers 
and  Sedgwicks  and  Danforths,  before  whose  patriarchal  forms  ir- 
reverence was  rebuked,  and  the  hoary  head  was  honored  1     They 


'22  UKUKSIIIKK    Ji;UiLEK. 

havi- L,M)iu'  to  thiir  rcsi  :  may  tlicy  l)e  succeeded  worthily  by  the 
rtt.idenl  sons  of  IJerksliire  ! 

Here  wc  arc  !  Thanks  to  God  that  we  are  here  !  Look  upon 
your  sons,  Berkshire,  and  see  if  tliey  have  disgraced  their  honored 
parent.  Cast  your  eye  around  upon  these  manly  forms,  these  am- 
ple foreheads,  these  beaming  and  now  melting  eyes.  You  can  see 
at  a  glance  that  they  are  all  cold  water  men,  and  a  large  propor- 
tion are  pious  men.  Many  occupy  places  of  distinction.  I  recog- 
nize many  whom  I  have  seen  presiding  in  the  halls  of  justice ; 
others  are  well  known  in  the  National  and  State  legislatures;  many 
others  have  distinguished  themselves  at  the  Bar,  and  others  still  in 
the  sacred  profession.  Some  have  returned  from  their  toils  among 
the  distant  heathen,  and  in  visiting  the  place  of  their  nativity,  they 
have  come  to  the  cradle  of  Jhnerican  Missions. 

But  there  are  hundreds,  and  probably  thousands,  who  are  not 
here,  some  of  whom  are  occupying  equally  important  and  honored 
stations.  The  Secretary  of  State,  several  of  the  members  of  Con- 
gress, and  many  of  the  judges  of  the  state  of  New-York j  the  Chief 
Justice  of  Michigan;  the  U.  S.  District  Judge  of  Indiana;  profes- 
sors in  the  Theological  Seminaries  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  and  New- 
ton, Mass.,  and  many,  many  others  who  might  be  named  are  not 
with  us.  We  regret  that  they  are  not:  and  so  will  they,  when 
they  know  that  while  the  mountains  and  the  rivers  are  what  they 
always  were,  the  heart  of  Berkshire  has  grown  a  great  deal  larger, 
and  tiiat  it  beats  with  a  mightier  throb  towards  its  emigrant  sons. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked,  where  did  the  idea  of  this 
Jubilee  originate?  This  may  be  a  fitting  occasion  for  answering 
that  question.  A  gentleman  whose  official  relation  has  led  him  to 
travel  extensively  in  this  country,  and  who  was  brought  into  con- 
tact with  a  great  number  of  intelligent  men,  found  those  in  influ- 
ential and  useful  stations  in  nearly  every  principal  city  and  State, 
who  hailed  from  Berkshire.  Returning  to  the  county,  as  he  always 
did  once  or  twice  each  year,  he  found  the  people  of  a  particular  town 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  distinguished  men  had  emigrated  from 
adjacent  towns;  and  the  emigrants  themselves  were  unaware  of 
the  Berkshire  origin  of  men  with  whom  they  were  familiar  in  com- 
mercial, political  or  ecclesiastical  circles.  The  idea  was  conceived 
five  or  six  years  ago,  of  bringing  together  the  emigrants  from  this 
county,  with  the  view  of  forming  a  band  of  brotherhood  between 


RECEPTION    MEETING.  23 

them;  awakening  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  the  County,  an 
interest  in  the  fame  and  usefulness  of  its  sons,  and  furnishing  an 
illustration  of  the  influence  which  New  England  is  exerting  on  the 
country  and  the  world.  Wherever  the  idea  has  been  suggested, 
it  has  been  cordially  approved.  The  time  for  its  realization  has 
been  delayed  for  various  reasons,  but  chiefly  with  the  hope  of  such 
relieving  prosperity  as  the  country  now  enjoys.  A  year  ago  last 
April,  he  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  our  respected  Orator  (Hon. 
J.  A.  Spencer,)  in  the  rail  cars  west  of  Albany,  and  the  thought 
occurred  that  he  had  been  named  as  one  of  Berkshire's  honored 
sons.  The  inquiry  was  made  whether  he  retained  any  attach- 
ment for  his  native  county?  "  Yes,"  said  he,  "it  is  a  part  of  my 
religion  to  go  back  there  once  a  year."  The  plan  for  this  gather- 
ing was  suggested,  and  he  entered  into  it  with  all  his  heart.  A 
programme  for  the  occasion  was  made  on  a  card,  essentially  as  it 
is  now  arranged.  On  the  return  of  the  individual  of  whom  I 
speak,  to  the  city  of  New-York,  he  met  the  late  lamented  Col. 
Stone,  who  promised  and  gave  the  aid  of  the  Commercial  Adver- 
tiser in  forwarding  the  plan.  When  preparing  an  article  for  the 
Journal  of  Commerce,  suggesting  a  meeting  of  the  emigrants  resi- 
dent in  New-York,  it  became  necessa?ry  to  have  a  title,  and  the 
"  Berkshire  Jubilee"  was  first  written.  Some  of  my  associates 
of  the  Committee  have  been  mainly  instrumental,  in  conjunciion 
with  the  efficient  Berkshire  Committee,  in  securing  that  consum- 
mation in  which  we  rejoice  to-day. 

I  have  a  single  suggestion  to  make,  said  Mr.  C,  in  concluding 
these  desultory  remarks.  Though  this  is  the  first,  it  will  not  be 
the  last  County  Jubilee.  Hampshire  and  Hartford  and  Benning- 
ton and  Hillsboro'  and  Kennebec  counties  may  have  theirs.  Let 
them  be  held  from  year  to  year.  A  blessing  will  be  in  them  all. 
A  feeling  will  be  awakened  which  can  only  be  satislicd  with  a 
general  gathering  of  the  emigrant  tribes  of  New  England.  The 
suggestion  then,  is,  that  there  be  a  New  England  Jubilee  at 
Bunker  Hill  in  1850,  and  that  the  Governors  of  the  New  England 
States,  and  the  Presidents  of  the  New  England  Colleges,  be  a 
committee  to  send  out  a  call  for  the  great  convocation.  It  is  time 
that  the  world  should  know  what  is  the  influence  of  the  Puritan 
stock  and  Puritan  Institutions. 

In  behalf  of  the  New-York  Committee  and  the  emigrant  sons  of 


24  UllKKMllIUK    JL'BILKJ-:. 

Brrksliirc,  I  accept  and  lliank  you  for  the  generous  welcome  with 
wliicli  wc  are  received.  The  preparations  made  are  on  a  scale  of 
characteristic  hospitality.  The  greeting  we  have  received  is  more 
than  a  coni})cnsation  lor  the  sacrifices  made  in  coming,  as  many  of 
us  have,  a  thousand  miles  or  more  to  attend  this  festival. 

May  tiie  blessing  of  the  Most  High  rest  on  these  beautiful  hills 
and  fertile  valleys  :  and  may  those  who  abide  here,  and  the  thou- 
sands who  shall  yet  go  Ibrth  hence  to  people  and  to  bless  other 
States  and  lands,  dwell  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty,  until 
we  all  "  return  and  come  with  singing  unto  Zion,  and  everlasting 
joy  shall  be  upon  our  heads." 


At  two  o'clock,  P.M.,  the  procession  was  organized  at  the  Park 
in  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  moved  to  the  hill  prepared  for  the 
exercises,  in  the  following  order,  accompanied  by  music. 

ORDER  OF  PROCESSION. 

1.  President  of  the  Day  and  SherilT  of  the  County. 

2.  Vice-Presidents.  • 

3.  Speakers. 

4.  The  Clergy. 

5.  New-York  Committee. 

6.  Berkshire  County  Committees. 

7.  Faculty  of  Williams  College. 

8.  Faculty  of  Berkshire  Medical  Institution. 

9.  Emigrant  sons  and  former  residents  of  Berkshire. 
10.  Citizens  of  the  County. 

"WILLIAM  C.  PLUNKETT,  of  Adams,  Chief  Marshal. 

Assistant  Marshals. 

Grenvillf.  D.  Weston,  Dalton.  Albert  G.  Belden,  Lenox. 

William  Williams,  Stockbridge.  Henry  H.  Cook,.  " 

Charles  M.  Owen,  Lee.  Jabez  Hall,  Adams. 

Stodpard  Hubbell,  Laaesborough.  Charles  W.  Hopkins,  G't  Barrington. 

Russell  A.  Gibbs,  "  William  B.  Saxton,  Sheffield. 

Ji-sTis  Tower,  "  Philip  Eames,  Washington. 

Levi  (Joodrich,  Pittsfield.  Wilijam  Waterman,  Williamstown. 

Amos  Barnes,  "  Moses  Day,  Otis. 

Charles  Chcrchill,   "  Henry  Putnam,  Hinsdale. 
Jabsz  Peck,                  " 


PUBLIC   EXERCISES.  25 

We  now  insert  the  exercises  as  they  took  place  on  the  afternoon 
of  Thursday,  August  22d. 

1.  ANTHEM. 
Wake  the  song  of  jubilee  ! 
Let  it  echo  o'er  the  sea  ! 
Now  is  come  the  promised  hour; 
Jesus  reigns  with  sovereign  power  ! 

All  ye  nations  join  and  sing,  0 

"  Christ,  of  lords  and  kings  is  King  !" 
Let  it  sound  from  shore  to  shore, 
Jesus  reigns  for  evermore  ! 

Now  the  desert  lands  rejoice, 
And  the  islands  join  their  voice; 
Yea,  the  whole  creation  sings, 
Jesus  is  the  King  of  kings. 

2.  PRAYER.     By  the  Rev.  Dr.  Shepard. 

3.  SINGING.     Psalm.     Tnne— Majesty. 

Our  land,  O  Lord,  with  songs  of  praise 

Shall  in  thy  strength  rejoice; 
And,  blest  with  thy  salvation,  raise, 

To  heaven  their  cheerful  voice. 

Thy  sure  defence,  through  nations  round, 

Has  spread  our  wond'rous  name; 
And  our  successful  actions  crowned 

With  dignity  and  fame. 

Then  let  our  land  on  God  alone 

For  timely  aid  rely; 
His  mercy,  which  adorns  his  throne. 

Shall  all  our  wants  supply. 

Thus,  Lord,  thy  wond'rous  power  declare, 

And  thus  exalt  thy  fame; 
Whilst  we  glad  songs  of  praise  prepare 

For  thine  Almighty  name. 


A  SERMON, 

DELIVERED   AT   PITTSFIELD, 
AUGUST  22,  1844, 

ON     THE     OCCASION     OF 

THE   BEKKSHIRE  JUBILEE 


By  mark  HOPKINS,  D.D. 


SEEMON. 


And  this  is  the  Berkshire  Jubilee !  We  have  come 
— the  sons  and  daughters  of  Berkshire  —  from  our  vil- 
lages, and  hill  sides,  and  mountain  tops ;  from  the  dis- 
tant city,  from  the  far  west,  from  every  place  where 
the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  of  adventure  bears  men  — 
we  have  come.  The  farmer  has  left  his  field,  the  me- 
chanic his  work-shop,  the  merchant  his  counting-room, 
the  lawyer  his  brief,  and  the  minister  his  people,  and 
we  have  come  to  revive  old  and  cherished  associations, 
and  to  renew  former  friendships — to  lengthen  the 
cords  and  strengthen  the  stakes  of  every  kind  and 
time-hallowed  affection. 

And  coming  thus  from  these  wide  dispersions,  un- 
der circumstances  which  must  carry  our  minds  back 
to  the  first  dawnings  of  life,  and  cause  us  to  review  all 
the  path  of  our  pilgrimage ;  coming  too  as  natives  and 
citizens  of  a  State  on  the  eastern  border  of  which  is 
Plymouth  rock,  what  so  suitable  as  that  our  first  pub- 
lic act  should  be  to  assemble  ourselves  for  the  worship 
of  the  God  of  our  fathers,  and  our  God,  and  to  do  honor 
to  those  institutions  of  religion  through  the  influence  of 
which,  chiefly,  we  are  what  we  are,  and  without  which 
the  moral  elements  in  which  this  occasion  has  origi- 
nated could  not  have  existed.     Coming  thus  to  cele- 


32  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

brato  a  local  thankscrivin^  —  local  in  one  sense,  but 
extended  in  another,  since  this  day  our  family  affec- 
tion is  thrown  around  a  whole  county,  —  how  fit  is  it, 
while  we  look  back  o^  all  the  way  in  which  God  has 
led  us,  while  our  kind  feelings  towards  our  fellow  men 
;ire  awakened  and  strengthened,  that  we  should  suffer 
nil  the  goodness  of  God  to  lead  us  to  him  —  that  we 
should  adopt,  as  I  am  sure  every  one  of  us  has  reason 
to  do,  the  language  of  the  Psalmist,  and  say,  '*  Return 
unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul;  for  the  Lord  hath  dealt 
bountifully  with  thee." 

This  passage  of  Scripture,  which  I  have  selected  as 
my  text  on  this  occasion,  will  be  found  in  the  116th 
Psalm  and  the  7th  verse : 

"  Return  UNTO  thy  rest,  O  my  soul;  for  the  Lord 

HATH    DEALT    BOUNTIFULLY    WITH    THEE." 

These  words  assert  a  fact,  and  contain  an  exhorta- 
tion based  on  that  fact.  We  will  first  attend  to  the 
fact ;  and  then  to  the  exhortation. 

The  fiict  asserted  is,  "  The  Lord  hath  dealt  bounti- 
fully with  thee."  And  here,  in  accordance  with  what 
has  already  been  said  of  the  propriety  of  our  assem- 
bling thus,  the  first  thing  which  I  notice  is  the  agency 
of  God  in  the  prosperity  of  men.  The  assertion  is, 
"  The  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee." 

The  Bible  differs  from  all  other  books  in  its  recog- 
nition of  God  in  every  thing.  There  we  not  onlv 
lind  it  formally  stated  that  in  him  we  live  and  move 
and  have  our  being,  that  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the 
ground  without  him,  and  that  the  verv  hairs  of  our 


SERMON.  33 

heads  are  all  numbered ;  but  we  find  an  incidental 
reference  to  him  of  all  those  events  which  are  usually 
attributed  to  natural  causes.  There  we  find  no  per- 
sonification and  deification  of  the  laws  of  nature,  or  of 
any  principles  or  agencies  to  come  between  the  crea- 
ture and  God.  There  we  find  no  identification  of  God 
with  the  Universe  on  the  one  hand,  and  no  exclusion 
of  him  from  it,  under  the  pretence  of  exalting  him,  on 
the  other.  He  is  there  represented,  indeed,  as  in  the 
midst  of  his  works,  but  as  being  as  distinct  from  them 
as  the  builder  of  the  house  is  from  the  house.  He  is 
represented  as  the  proprietor  of  all  things,  as  sustain- 
ing and  controlling  all  things,  and  as  furnishing  by  his 
all-pervading  agency  the  only  conditions  on  which  any 
subordinate  agency  can  be  exercised.  Do  the  Israel- 
ites triumph  in  battle  ?  It  is  God  who  gives  them  the 
victory.  Does  an  enemy  come  up  against  them?  It 
is  God  who  brings  him.  Famine,  and  pestilence,  and 
great  warriors  are  the  scourges  of  God.  It  is  his  sun 
that  he  causeth  to  rise  upon  the  evil  and  upon  the  good ; 
and  his  rain  that  he  sendeth  upon  the  just  and  upon  the 
unjust.  ' '  He  hath  made  the  earth  by  his  power,  he  hath 
established  the  world  by  his  wisdom,  and  stretched  out 
the  heavens  by  his  discretion.  When  he  uttereth  his 
voice  there  is  a  multitude  of  waters  in  the  heavens, 
and  he  causeth  the  vapors  to  ascend  from  the  ends  of 
the  earth ;  he  maketh  lightnings  with  rain,  and 
bringeth  forth  the  wind  out  of  his  treasures."  His  are 
the  "  corn  and  the  Avine,  and  the  oil  and  the  flax." 
His  are  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  the  cattle  upon  a 


34  IIKKKSJIIKI':    JUini.EK. 

thousand  hills,  and  he  exercises  a  providential  control 
over  all.  What  he  o^iveth  his  creatures  they  j^ather; 
"  He  opcncth  his  hand ;  and  they  are  filled  with  good. 
He  hideth  his  face,  they  are  troubled;  Hetaketh  away 
their  breath,  they  die  and  return  to  their  dust."  If  any 
arc  in  adversity,  it  is  because  God  tries  and  would 
correct  them ;  if  any  are  in  prosperity,  it  is  because 
God  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  them.  Is  success  the 
result  of  strength  and  skill  ?  that  strength  and  skill  he 
gives.  The  most  wise  and  skillful,  not  less  than  the 
most  fortunate,  has  reason  to  render  thanksgiving  and 
praise  to  him. 

It  is  this  fact  of  the  universal,  absolute,  and  entire 
dependence  of  all  creatures  upon  God,  a  fact  elemen- 
tary to  all  true  religion,  which  places  us  in  the  pecu- 
liar relation  which  Ave  hold  to  God  as  a  Father,  which 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  gratitude  for  the  past,  and  trust 
for  the  future,  of  which  we  would  feel  at  all  times,  but 
especially  at  this  time,  a  deep,  abiding,  and  practi- 
cal sense.  "Whatever  of  goodness  and  mercy  have 
followed  us ;  whatever  of  prosperity,  and  success,  and 
enjoyment  have  been  ours,  we  would  to-day  look  back 
upon  the  way  in  which  God  has  led  us,  and  ascribe  it 
all  to  him.  We  would  say  it  is  because  "  the  Lord 
hath  dealt  bountifully  with  us." 

Thus  recognizing  the  agency  of  God,  we  next  en- 
quire for  a  moment,  what  it  is  for  him  to  deal  boun- 
tifully with  us.  This  would  seem  to  require  but  little 
explanation,  but  it  must  be  noticed  in  connexion  with 
what  has  just  been  said  of  that  agency,  lest  the  evil 


SERMON.  35 

which  results  from  the  negligence  and  folly  and  vice 
of  men,  should  be  imputed  to  the  provisions  and  agency 
of  God. 

When  God  is  said  to  deal  bountifully  with  men, 
reference  is  sometimes  had  to  the  original  endow- 
ments which  he  bestows  upon  them.  Thus,  if  we 
compare  man  with  the  brutes,  we  find  him  possessed 
of  a  commanding  intellect,  and  reason,  and  conscience, 
of  which  they  are  entirely  destitute.  These  he  has 
received  from  God,  and  God  may  be  justly  said  to  have 
dealt  bountifully  with  him  in  bestowing  them.  So 
also,  if  we  compare  men  with  each  other,  we  find  them 
possessing  every  variety  of  constitution  and  natural 
gifts,  and  of  some  it  may  be  said  emphatically  and  pre- 
eminently, that  God  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  them. 

But  in  general,  when  we  speak  of  God's  dealing 
bountifully  with  men,  we  do  not  refer  to  the  original 
endowments  and  capabilities  with  which  they  are  fur- 
nished. These  are  taken  for  granted,  and  the  bounty 
of  God  is  made  to  consist  in  his  bestowment  of  those 
external  gifts  by  means  of  which  all  the  faculties  and 
capabilities  of  man  are  developed,  and  in  which  they 
find  their  true  enjoyment.  Scarcely  more  dependent 
is  the  seed  upon  the  rain  and  the  sunshine  to  cause  it 
to  germinate  and  grow,  than  is  man  upon  means  and 
influences  external  to  himself,  and  to  a  great  extent 
independent  of  himself  for  growth  and  enjoyment. 
God  is  an  independent  being.  He  suflices  unto  him- 
self He  is  infinitely  happy  in  himself^  and  is  depend- 
ent in  no  degree  upon  any  external  adjustment,   or 


36  DERKSHIKE    JUBILEE. 

upon  any  correspondence  to  him  of  things  without. 
Hence  no  accident  can  reach  hirn,  no  change  can 
affect  liini.  In  this  respect  his  mode  of  existence  is 
totally  different  from  that  of  all  created  beings.  Crea- 
tures, probably  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  are  de- 
pendent upon  God.  It  is  the  glory  and  happiness  of 
rational  and  moral  creatures  that  they  are  dependent 
upon  him  directly  and  immediately  as  the  only  object 
to  which  their  faculties  correspond,  and  which  is  capa- 
ble of  calling  them  fully  forth,  and  giving  them  com- 
plete satisfaction.  But  in  many  respects,  we,  and  pro- 
bably all  creatures,  are  dependent,  not  immediately 
upon  God,  but  upon  other  things  which  he  has  created 
and  placed  in  certain  relations  to  us,  and  upon  God 
through  them.  "  Every  species  of  creature,"  says 
Bishop  Butler,  "  is,  we  see,  designed  for  a  particular 
way  of  life,  to  which  the  nature,  the  capacities,  tem- 
per and  qualifications  of  each  species  are  as  necessary 
as  their  external  circumstances."  And  I  may  add, 
that  their  external  circumstances  are  as  necessary  as 
their  capacities,  tempers,  and  qualifications.  "Both," 
he  continues,  "  come  into  the  motion  of  such  state  or 
way  of  life,  and  are  constituent  parts  of  it.  Change 
a  man's  capacities  or  character  to  the  degree  in  which 
it  is  conceivable  they  may  be  changed,  and  he  would 
be  altogether  incapable  of  a  human  course  of  life,  and 
human  happiness,  as  incapable  as  if,  his  nature  con- 
tinuing unchanged,  he  were  placed  in  a  world  where 
he  had  no  sphere  of  action,  nor  any  objects  to  answer 
his  appetites,  passions,  and  affections  of  any  sort.     One 


SERMON. 


thing  is  set  over  against  another,  as  an  ancient  writer 
expresses  it.  Our  nature  corresponds  to  our  external 
condition.  Without  this  correspondence  there  would 
be  no  possibility  of  any  such  thing  as  human  life  and 
human  happiness,  which  life  and  happiness  are  there- 
fore a  result  from  our  nature  and  condition  jointly, 
meaning  by  human  life,  not  living  in  the  literal  sense, 
but  the  whole  complex  notion  commonly  understood 
by  those  words." 

According  to  this  view,  the  highest  idea  we  can  have 
of  the  bounty  of  God  in  his  dealings  with  his  creatures 
would  be — not,  as  is  commonly  supposed,  that  he  should 
give  them  large  possessions  that  should  be  subject  to 
the  control  of  their  will,  not  that  he  should  give  such 
possessions  at  all  —  "For  a  man's  life  consisteth  not 
in  the  abundance  of  the  things  that  he  possesseth,"  — 
but  that  for  every  internal  want,  susceptibility,  faculty, 
there  should  be  its  corresponding  external  object  by 
means  of  which  every  want  might  be  supplied,  every 
susceptibility  met,  every  faculty  be  trained  to  its  highest 
expansion,  and  receive  the  fullest  enjoyment  of  which 
it  was  capable.  The  provision,  with  given  faculties, 
of  such  external  objects  is  what  w^e  commonly  mean  by 
bount}^;  and  if  the  expansion  and  enjoyment  of  the 
faculties  would  flow  from  the  relations  in  which  they 
are  placed  spontaneously,  and  without  eflbrt  of  ours, 
we  are  apt  to  think  the  bounty  Avould  be  increased. 
Perhaps  this  would  be  so  in  a  perfect  state.  Perhaps 
it  will  be  so  in  heaven  —  and  perhaps  it  will  not.  But 
it  is  not  so  here,  and  it  cannot  be  in  a  world  intended  to 

E 


3S  UlKKSlllKK    JUBIJ.KK. 

bo  a  ])Uu'i'  <»f"  prohation,  or  of  discipline.  Here  God 
makes  llie  j)r()visi()ii,  but  man  must  apply  it  in  accor- 
dance Avitli  those  laws  which  he  has  instituted.  God 
makes  the  provision,  and  how  wonderful  is  it !  How 
infinite,  how  varied,  how  exact  are  the  corresponden- 
cies between  the  susceptibilities  and  powers  of  living 
beings,  and  the  objects  around  them  !  In  no  point  of 
view  does  the  universe  of  God  present  a  more  pleasing 
object  of  study.  Yes,  God  makes  the  provision,  and 
though  men  should  apply  it  unwisely,  or  not  at  all ; 
though  they  should,  as  they  do,  pervert  his  gifts  to 
their  own  unhappiness,  yet  it  may  still  be  said  that 
"  The  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  them." 

We  now  proceed  to  the  assertion  on  which  I  wish 
chiefly  to  dwell.  The  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with 
thee.  In  illustrating  this,  I  shall  be  expected  to  dwell 
chiefly  on  those  manifestations  of  goodness  which  are 
suggested  by  the  peculiar  occasion  on  which  we  have 
met.  But  these,  as  common  to  us  all,  cannot  reach 
the  heart  as  would  those  more  particular  instances  of 
the  Divine  goodness  of  which  we  have  had  individual 
experience.  In  these  Ave  find  the  deepest  and  truest 
grounds  of  thankfulness.  How  affecting  to  some  of  us 
must  the  remembrance  of  these  be !  while  there  is  not 
one,  whether  we  have  wandered  abroad  and  now  re- 
turned, or  whether  we  have  remained,  who  cannot 
adopt,  each  with  an  application  peculiar  to  himself, 
the  language  of  the  verse  succeeding  the  text  and  say, 
*'  For  thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  death,  mine 
eyes  from  tears,  and  my  feet  from  falling."     The  re- 


SERMON.  39 

membrance  of  these  individual  mercies  let  us  cherish; 
and  I  recall  them  now,  that  that  remembrance  may- 
lie  warm  about  our  hearts,  and  give  an  interest  to  those 
more  general  instances  of  goodness  of  which  I  must 
speak. 

I  observe  then,  first,  that  God  has  dealt  bountifully 
with  us  in  the  provision  he  has  made  for  our  physical 
wants.  By  this  I  mean,  not  merely  that  we  have  been 
free  from  actual  want,  and  the  fear  of  it, — that  "  bread 
has  been  given  us,  and  that  our  waters  have  been  sure," 
— but  I  mean  the  supply  and  arrangement  of  all  those 
substances  and  agencies  by  Avhich  the  physical  man 
is  brought  to  the  greatest  perfection.  How" great  is  the 
variety  in  the  same  species  of  vegetables  and  animals, 
as  they  are  sustained  by  diiferent  nutriment,  and  are  sub- 
jected to  diversities  of  climate  !  How  great,  from  the 
same  causes,  is  the  diversity  in  the  races  of  men  !  Ori- 
ginally God  made  all  men  of  the  same  blood  to  dwell  on 
the  face  of  the  earth ;  but  now  we  see  the  dwarfed  Lap- 
lander, the  small-eyed,  high-cheeked,  swarthy  Tartar, 
the  black  and  wooly  headed  Hottentot,  the  slender  and 
delicately  formed  Hindoo,  the  tall  lithe  form  of  the 
American  Indian,  and  our  own  fair  race  before  whom 
those  Indians  have  melted  away.  Of  these  varieties 
of  the  human  race,  some,  whether  beauty  or  power  be 
regarded,  come  nearer  the  standard  of  a  perfect  physi- 
cal organization  than  others.  Some  climates,  some 
articles  of  food,  some  modes  of  life  are  more  favorable 
than  others  to  the  full  growth  and  perfection  of  the 
animal  frame.     A  temperate  climate,  pure  moniitjiin 


40  ULKKSIIIHK    JL'UILEE. 

bropzos,  clear  springs  of  water  and  running  brooks,  and 
an  abiindnTire  of  nourishinj^  food,  whieb  is  yet  yielded 
only  to  the  band  of  an  industry  tbat  fully  developes 
and  compacts  and  bardens  tbe  frame,  seem  to  be  the 
chief  conditions  of  its  perfect  expansion.  And  which 
of  these  is  wanting,  to  those  who  dwell  in  these  val- 
lies,  and  upon  the  sides  of  these  hills  ?  We  can  in- 
deed boast  no  superiority  here  over  many  others.  In 
some  respects,  and  at  some  seasons,  others  may  have 
advantages  over  us.  We  hear  them  speak  of  the  sunny 
south,  and  of  the  milder  and  more  fertile  Avest  and 
southwest.  But  the  bounty  of  God  as  bearing  on  the 
physical  frame  is  relative,  not  merely  to  passive  en- 
joyment, but,  from  their  reaction  upon  that  frame,  to 
habits  of  active  industry  and  of  virtuous  self-denial ; 
and  history  furnishes  no  example  of  a  people  possess- 
ing a  soil  more  fertile  and  a  clunate  more  bland  than 
ours,  who  have  not  degenerated  and  become  luxurious 
and  effeminate.  No  doubt  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  where  they  did,  was  ordered  of  God.  If  they 
had  landed  at  New  Orleans,  the  result  would  have 
been  widely  different.  Nor  does  it  follow,  because 
those  who  go  out  from  us  to  regions  of  greater  ease  and 
more  abundant  wealth  say  they  would  not  return,  that 
it  will  be  as  well  for  their  children  of  the  second  and 
third  generations.  But  without  attempting  to  measure 
with  exactness  that  which  does  not  admit  of  it,  we 
are  so  favored  that  I  suppose  there  is  no  where  a  spot 
where  an  occasion  like  this  would  draw  together  a 
company  of  people  who  would  on  the  whole  be  supe- 


SERMON.  41 

rior  to  those  before  me,  in  their  physical  aspect  and 
organization.  No  doubt  there  is  room  for  improve- 
ment. The  physical  man  is  not  here  or  elsewhere 
what  it  will  be  when  men  universally  shall  learn  and 
obey  the  laws  of  temperance  in  all  things,  the  great 
organic  laws  of  God.  But  let  us  do  this,  and  we  are 
within  that  range  of  agencies  tlirough  which  the  high- 
est perfection  of  man  may  be  reached,  and  if  so,  it  may 
be  truly  said  that "  God  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  us." 

I  observe  again,  that  God  has  dealt  bountifully  with 
us  in  granting  us  those  aspects  of  nature,  and  those  in- 
fluences of  society  by  which  we  have  been  surrounded. 
Nature  and  society — these,  next  to  the  Spirit  and  word 
of  God,  are  the  two  great  agencies  for  calling  forth  that 
higher  life  of  man,  that  life  of  thought  and  emotion, 
of  taste  and  affection,  which  comes  forth  from  the 
lower  animal  life  as  the  flower  from  the  stalk  and  the 
enfolding  leaves.  Each  of  these  has  its  appropriate 
ofiice,  and  compared  with  these,  what  is  technically 
called  education  is  comparatively  ineflicient. 

Man  is  not  thrown  into  the  lap  of  nature  simply  that 
she  should  supply  the  wants  of  his  animal  frame.  No, 
she  has  voices  in  which  she  speaks  to  him,  and  a 
countenance  of  varying  aspects  upon  which  he  may 
look.  To  these  voices  and  aspects  there  are  spirits 
that  are  attuned,  and  the  child  is  to  be  pitied  who  is 
shut  out  from  nature,  or  who  has  not  felt  a  Avild  and 
undefinable  delight  as  he  has  entered  the  deep  woods, 
and  heard  the  note  of  the  wood  bird,  and  gathered 
moss  and  strange  flowers ;   as  he  has  seen  and  fled 


42  BK.UKSniRE    JUBILEF- 

brforo  the  roniins^  storm  ;  as  he  lias  looked  at  the  rain- 
bow sj)aniiinj?  the  heavens;  as  he  has  climbed  the 
niomitaiii  top  and  •razed  on  the  wide  prospect  beneath. 
To  such  an  one,  rightly  educated,  there  is  not  a  single 
aspect  or  mood  in  which  nature  can  be  found,  from 
the  ([iiict  reverie  of  her  summer  noon,  to  the  passion 
of  her  storms  and  tornadoes,  in  which  his  spirit  does 
not  sympathise. 

But  while  nature  has  sounds  of  melody  and  sights 
of  beauty  for  all,  how  diverse  are  those  which  she 
presents  by  the  shore  of  the  ocean,  on  the  level  or 
rolling  sea  of  the  western  prairie,  among  the  wild  and 
desolate  rocks  of  the  AVhite  Hills,  or  among  the  green 
mountains  and  hills  and  vallies  of  our  own  Berk- 
shire ?  Nor  is  it  possible,  where  there  is  mental  deve- 
lopement,  that  this  diversity  should  be  without  its  effect 
upon  it.  From  the  variety  of  soil  and  climate  which  it 
involves,  this  diversity  will  not  only  produce  a  diffe- 
rence in  the  habits  and  occupations  of  life,  but  also  in 
all  the  associations,  and  so  far  as  the  conceptive  facul- 
ty is  concerned,  in  the  whole  web  and  texture  of  our 
mental  being.  From  what  can  our  ideal  world  of 
forms  and  colors  be  framed  but  from  the  little  actual 
world  that  surrounds  the  horizon  of  our  childhood? 
No  doubt  there  are  those  upon  Avhom,  from  the  hard 
pressure  of  animal  wants,  or  the  withering  effects  of 
oppression,  or  from  early  absorption  in  the  rounds  of 
fashion,  or  from  sensuality  and  vice,  the  finest  sce- 
nery makes  no  more  impression  than  the  shadow  of 
the  cloud  as  it  passes  over  tlie  rock.     It  is  melancholv 


SERMON.  43 

to  hear  the  author  of  "  Letters  from  Abroad,"  saying, 
••  I  have  never  seen  people  that  seemed  to  me  merer 
animals  than  the  Swiss  peasants  amid  their  sublimest 
scenery."  Still,  there  will  be  those»  every  where,  and 
where  culture  is  general  there  will  be  many,  from  whose 
minds  the  tinge  and  coloring  given  by  early  scenes  can 
never  be  entirely  removed.  And  when  these  scenes 
are  remarkable  for  grandeur  or  beauty,  how  strong  is 
the  impression  which  they  often  make  !  How  does  it 
become  incorporated  into  our  very  being,  and  the  love 
of  them  become  a  passion  !  So  has  it  been  in  Swit- 
zerland. It  has  been  the  Swiss  soldier  alone  whom 
home  sickness  has  unfitted  for  duty;  in  his  regiments 
alone,  has  it  been  forbidden  to  play  the  air  that  re- 
minded him  most  of  his  native  mountains  and  vallies. 
So  it  has  been  among  the  Highlands  of  Scotland ;  and 
so,  to  some  extent,  has  it  been  with  us.  No  doubt  the 
call  for  this  meeting  has  originated,  in  part,  from  a 
yearning  to  behold  again  these  familiar  scenes  —  be- 
cause the  hillside,  and  the  old  house,  and  the  tree  by 
it,  and  the  encircling  mountains  had  become  a  part 
of  our  being,  and  would  come  back  in  our  sleeping  or 
waking  dreams.  I  know  how  it  is  with  you,  my 
brethren  from  abroad.  You  wanted  to  see  again  these 
old  mountains.  How  often  have  I  heard  those  who 
have  gone  from  us  to  the  west,  say  how  they  longed 
to  see  mountains. 

And  here  certainly,  in  the  scenery  of  the  County, 
God  has  dealt  bountifully  with  us.  I  am  willing  to 
make  every  allowance  that  ought  to  be  made  lor  our 


44  Hr.KKSIIIKK    JIJBILEK. 

own  li'olinfTs,  I  am  willing  to  conlijss  that  this  scenery 
is  more  beautiful  to  us  because  it  is  ours.  I  should  be 
sorry  if  it  were  not  so.  I  envy  not  that  philoso^jhical 
generality  which  would  root  up  all  the  early  green  of 
the  soul,  and  if  there  are  any  here  who  bless  them- 
selves in  having  done  so,  I  wish  no  communion  with 
them.  But  making  every  allowance  that  ought  to  be 
made,  it  must  be  conceded  that  in  no  County  in  the 
State,  and  in  few  in  the  Union  will  there  be  found 
more  fine  scenery  than  in  this  of  ours.  On  its  southern 
border  we  have  Taghcannic  mountain  with  its  Bash- 
bishe.     Then  we  have  those  "  gray  old  rocks," 

"  That  seem  a  fragment  of  some  mighty  wall 
Built  by  the  hand  that  fashioned  the  old  world 
To  separate  the  nations,  and  thrown  doAvn 
When  the  flood  drowned  them." 

And  then  we  have  Gray  Lock,  the  highest  point  in  the 
State,  giving  a  view  that  for  vastness  and  sublimity  is 
equalled  by  nothing  in  New  England  except  the  White 
Hills.  And  then  how  much  of  beauty  there  is  in  a 
ride  through  the  length  of  the  County  Avhether  it  be 
when  the  green  of  summer  is  in  its  full  freshness,  or 
when 

"  The  woods  of  Autumn  all  around  our  vales 
Have  put  their  glory  on." 

Probably  most  of  us  have  read,  for  it  used  to  be  in  a 
iS'ew-England  school  book,  of  that  journey  of  a  day  that 
was  the  picture  of  human  life.  And  if  it  were  given 
to  us  to  make  the  journey  of  a  day  that  should  be,  not 


SERMON.  45 

in  its  events,  but  in  its  scenery,  the  picture  of  our  lives, 
where  should  we  rather  choose  to  make  it  than  through 
the  length  of  our  own  Berkshire  ?      What  could  we 
do  better  than  to  watch  the  rising  sun  from  the  top  of 
Gray  Lock,  and  his  setting  from  the  Eagle's  Nest  ? 

It  is  in  connexion  with  such  physical  conditions, 
and  such  scenery  as  this,  aided  by  our  New  England 
institutions,  that  there  has  sprung  up  a  race  of  men  of 
whom  we  are  justly  proud.  Here,  to  mention  only 
those  now  in  office,  originated  the  present  Chief  Ma- 
gistrate of  the  State,  and  one  of  the  Judges  of  its  Su- 
preme Court.  Here  those  many  distinguished  and 
useful  men  from  abroad,  whom  we  welcome  to-day. 
Nor  have  those  been  wanting  who  have  illustrated  the 
literature  of  our  country.  To  say  nothing  of  others,  it 
is  perhaps  remarkable,  secluded  as  this  County  has 
been,  that  the  three  American  writers  most  widely  and 
justly  celebrated  in  their  several  departments,  have 
lived  and  written  here.  It  was  in  the  deep  quiet  of 
these  scenes,  that  the  profoundest  treatise  of  our  great- 
est metaphysical  writer  was  produced.  It  was  here 
that  the  powers  of  our  "truest  poet,"  one,  who  in  his 
own  line  of  poetry,  has  not  been  excelled  since  the 
world  stood,  became  known,  and  came  to  their  matu- 
rity ;  and  here  are  still  entwined,  greener  by  time,  the 
home  affections  of  one  Avhose  social  qualities  have  giv- 
en her  a  place  as  eminent  in  the  hearts  of  her  friends, 
as  her  power  and  grace  of  style,  and  her  universal 
sympathy  with  all  that  is  human,  have  given  her  as 
an  author  in  the  public  estimation. 

F 


46  DF.RKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

Bill  however  much  there  may  be  in  nature  of  com- 
panionship and  instruction  for  man,  she  yet  does  not 
meet  the  demand  which  he  cannot  but  feel  for  sym- 
patJiy,  and  affection,  and  rational  discourse.     If  man 
may  be  said  to  sympathize  with  her,  she  cannot  be 
said  to  sympathize  with  him.     If  man  speaks  to  her 
she  does  not  answer  him.     She  continues  evermore 
working  over  and  over  again  the  same  processes ;  she 
walks  on  in  her  perpetual  round,  and  heeds  not  the 
wants,  or  the  woes,  or  the  joys  of  her  children.     The 
cry  and  the  smile  of  infancy,  the  laugh  of  childhood, 
the  twilight  voice  of  plighted  love,  the  desolation  of 
the  widow  and  the  fatherless,  the  bridal  party  and  the 
funeral  procession  are  alike  to  her.     She  heeds  them 
not.     Alike  in  the  forest  where  no  eye  sees  her,  and 
by  the  human  habitation,  she  paints  the  flower,  and 
plies  the  "  tiny  shuttle"  with  which  she  weaves  the 
web  of  the.  leaf     When  the  eye  that  has  looked  upon 
her  with  the  most  enthusiasm,  is  closed  in  death,  she 
does  not  weep.     Man  needs  something  more  than  this; 
and  how  different  from  this  is  that  countenance  of  the 
mother  into  which  the  child  that  lies  in  her  lap  looks 
up !     How  different  from  those  inarticulate  voices  of 
nature  which  we  are  so  slow  to  interpret,  is  her  voice 
that  so  early  finds  its  way  into  all  the  chambers  and 
recesses  of  the  soul !     Here  is  another  world  which  is 
not  only  comprehended  by  us,  but  which  comprehends 
us.     Here  opens  upon  us  that  great  theatre  of  human 
life  where  the  turbulent  desires,  the  stormy  passions, 
the  thousand  sympathies,  and  hopes,  and  fears,  and 


SERMON.  47 

the  beautiful  affections  of  the  soul  of  man  are  called 
forth. 

But  far  less  diversified  is  the  face  of  nature  in  its 
action  upon  the  spirit  of  man,  than  is  that  of  human 
society.  As  the  land  and  the  water  are  divided  into 
continents  and  oceans,  so  there  are  general  divisions 
of  mankind,  into  races  naarked  by  features  differing 
scarcely  less  than  those  of  the  frigid  and  the  torrid  zone. 
These  races  are  again  divided  into  nations  having  cha- 
racteristics which  cannot  be  mistaken,  and  these  na- 
tions are  subdivided  into  provinces,  states,  counties, 
neighborhoods;  and  in  each  of  these  a  nice  observer 
will  find,  however  difficult  it  may  be  to  express  it,  a 
difference  of  character  which  must  become  a  condi- 
tion of  groAvth,  and  a  ground  of  diversity  for  those 
who  are  formed  under  its  influence.  This  diversity  is 
indeed  continued  to  individuals,  so  that  no  where 
more  than  in  character  do  Ave  find  a  more  striking 
manifestation  of  essential  unity  appearing  under  the 
forms  of  an  infinite  variety.  Not,  I  will  just  say  here, 
that  I  believe  it  is  circumstances  alone  that  make  the 
man,  but  the  cause  of  this  diversity  is  to  be  found  in 
the  action  and  reaction  of  the  free  and  personal  pow- 
ers and  of  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
placed. 

And  if  God  has  dealt  bountifully  with  us  in  respect  to 
the  physical  conditions  and  aspects  of  nature,  so  has  he 
in  respect  to  the  great  features  of  that  society  by  which 
we  have  been  surrounded.  These  great  features  are 
those  which  belong  to  the  societv  of  New  England. 


48  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

We  arc  it  is  true  upon  the  border  of  New  England, 
but  we  are  of  it,  and  we  cherish  a  love  for  it  no  less 
ardent  than  those  who  dwell  around  the  spot  where 
it  was  first  peopled,  and  where  its  great  heart  beats. 
We  are  of  New  England.  We  love  her  soil,  we  love 
her  institutions,  we  love  her  people.  We  think  that 
the  great  features  of  her  society,  both  presuppose  and 
tend  to  cultivate  the  highest  powers  of  man  m  orefuUy 
than  any  others. 

Among  these  are,  1st,  that  absolute  equality  of  right 
which  is  declared  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
to  belong  to  all — the  right  to  use  our  faculties,  and 
pursue  our  happiness  in  any  way  we  may  choose,  so 
long  as  we  do  not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  others. 
2d,  A  security  of  every  man,  however  humble,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  this  right,  and  pf  the  results  of  his  own 
labor,  such  as  has  been  rarely  enjoyed ;  which  never 
can  be  enjoyed  under  a  despotic  government ;  nor  under 
a  government  like  ours  if  the  public  morals  should 
deteriorate,  or  agrarian  principles,  or  mob  law  should 
become  prevalent.  3d,  A  great  practical  equality  — 
the  possession  of  the  whole  country  by  freeholders  in 
farms  of  a  small  or  moderate  size,  and  the  absence  of 
any  social  distinctions  which  can  prevent  any  young 
person  from  finding  his  true  position.  Labor  is  hon- 
orable, and  if  some  are  degraded  by  ignorance,  indo- 
lence and  vice,  it  is  their  own  fault  or  that  of  their 
friends,  and  not  of  our  institutions.  A  fourth  feature, 
which  is  also  one  of  the  causes  of  those  preceding,  is 
a  universal  diftusion,  theoretically  universal,  and  to  a 


SERMON.  49 

great  extent  practically  so,  of  the  education  of  common 
schools,  and  to  as  great  an  extent  as  practicable  of  the 
higher  and  of  the  highest  means  of  intellectual  cul- 
ture. A  fifth  feature,  and  one  which  has  been  more 
operative  than  anything  else  in  giving  its  peculiarities 
to  New  England  character,  is  the  religious  element 
infused  into  society  by  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  and  which 
has  come  down  from  them.  Of  this  element  the  pro- 
minent characteristic,  as  it  seems  to  me,  was,  the  cul- 
tivation of  reverence  towards  God  and  the  State,  with- 
out a  nobility  in  the  State,  and  without  forms  in  reli- 
gion. 

Berkshire  was  not  indeed  wholly  settled  by  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Puritans,  but  it  was  chiefly,  it  was 
sufficiently  so  to  give  direction,  and  tone,  and  charac- 
ter to  society.  In  almost  every  town  there  was  a  con- 
gregational church  and  no  other,  and  according  to  the 
simple  rites  of  that,  the  people  worshiped.  In  con- 
nexion with  this  worship  there  was  a  deep  and  per- 
vading reverence  in  society  for  the  worship  and  the  in- 
stitutions of  God.  The  ministers  of  God  were  reve- 
renced ;  the  Sabbath  day  was  reverenced ;  parents  and 
the  aged  were  reverenced.  The  young  were  taught 
to  "rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  to  honor  the 
face  of  the  old  man."  There  was  great  purity  in  fa- 
milies, and  family  government  was  efficient.  There 
the  young  were  not  merely  taught  their  duties  theo- 
retically, but,  what  is  of  far  more  importance,  those 
habits  of  obedience  and  of  industry  were  formed  which 
are  necessary  to  make  good  men  and  good  citizens. 


60  IJEKKSHIKE    JUBILEE. 

Then  the  laws  wero  reverenced.  They  were  made  by 
the  people,  but  the  idea  was  unknown  that  any  irregu- 
lar assembly  of  people  could  be  abovo  law,  or  that 
they  could  abroj^ate  it  except  by  constitutional  forms. 
AVith  the  existence  of  individual  property  and  the  fa- 
mily state,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  institutions  of 
government  or  of  religion  more  simple,  or  attaining 
their  end  more  effectually ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  ad- 
duce another  instance  in  the  history  of  the  world,  in 
which  the  principle  of  reverence  has  been  equally  de- 
veloped from  an  intellectual  apprehension  of  the  sim- 
ple majesty  of  those  things  which  all  forms  are  intend- 
ed to  represent,  and  an  impression  of  which  all  ap- 
peals to  the  senses  are  intended  to  produce. 

Here  it  is  that  we  find  the  true  dignity  of  the  Puri- 
tan character.  There  is  that  in  God  and  his  works,  as 
man  stands  here  with  the  cope  of  heaven  above  him ; 
as  he  looks  out  into  a  peopled  universe,  and  into  infi- 
nite space ;  as  he  sees  the  mountains  lifting  up  their 
heads,  and  the  heaving  ocean,  which,  in  a  mind  right- 
ly constituted,  must  produce  reverence  ;  and  the  same 
feeling  is  appropriately  called  forth  by  the  manifesta- 
tion of  magnanimity  and  goodness;  by  whatever  is 
noble,  or  venerable,  or  godlike  in  man.  Without  this 
feeling,  man,  in  this  world  of  God,  is  like  an  animal 
with  horns  and  hoofs  turned  loose  in  a  well  furnished 
and  well  arranged  house.  He  has  no  perception  of 
uses  or  proprieties,  and  you  must  either  restrain  him  by 
fear,  or  influence  him  in  some  way  by  the  grosser  per- 
ceptions of  sense.     This  feeling  is  then  manifested  in 


SERMON. 


its  purest  and  liighest  forms,  when,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  any  superstition,  or  merely  human  rites,  or 
pomp  of  art,  man  is  brought  into  the  nearest  and  most 
intimate  communion  with  God  and  his  works,  and 
worships  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  With  this  feel- 
ing our  Puritan  ancestors  were  deeply  imbued.  Rising 
above  the  ordinary  objects  of  ambition,  wishing  for  no 
power  except  that  which  is  connected  with  the  sim- 
plest organization  by  which  the  objects  of  society  can 
be  realized,  they  found  their  dignity  and  happiness, 
not  in  what  they  possessed,  or  in  the  power  of  their 
will  over  others,  but  in  what  they  were  as  the  crea- 
tures of  God,  in  the  reverent  cultivation  of  their  affec- 
tions as  before  him,  and  in  the  prospect  of  immortali- 
ty ;  and  thus  they  became,  in  the  great  features  of  their 
character,  specimens  of  the  very  highest  style  of  man. 
Looking  at  a  people,  not  simply  as  possessed  of  refine- 
ment and  civilization,  a  high  degree  of  which  may 
consist  with  heathenism,  but  as  truly  cultivated  in 
those  faculties  which  are  distinctively  human.  I  think 
the  highest  point  is  reached  when  a  pervading  reve- 
rence, and  the  principles  and  affections  necessarily 
connected  with  that,  are  called  into  action  by  spiritual 
objects  and  their  relations,  with  the  least  possible  ap- 
peal to  the  senses. 

Since  their  day  we  have  made  great  progress  in  the 
arts,  in  refinement  and  civilization,  but  have  probably 
receded  in  that  in  which  consists  the  true  dignity  and 
the  highest  culture  of  man.  God  seems  to  have  raised 
them  up  for  a  special  purpose  —  to  infuse  a  leaven  into 


fi2  nERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

thn  whole  Icrmenling  mass  of  this  continent ;  and  as 
a  niij^hty  wave,  when  the  tide  is  coming  in,  flows  on 
far  iK'yond  the  rest  and  then  recedes,  so  they,  in  the 
at'itations  of  those  times,  seem  to  have  been  borne  up 
to  a  point,  which,  from  the  general  level  of  spiritual 
culture  in  the  world,  could  not  be  retained.  Accord- 
ingly the  ebb  came  ;  perhaps  it  is  the  ebb  tide  that  is 
flowing  yet;  but  we  look  for  a  mightier  movement 
when  the  waters  of  salvation  shall  rise  and  overflow, 
and  lie  as  a  quiet  sea  reflecting  the  image  of  heaven. 

It  is,  indeed,  the  fundamental  question  of  the  pre- 
sent day,  whether  the  principle  and  the  reverence  that 
are  necessary  to  the  greatest  strength  and  beauty  of 
society,  can  be  preserved  in  connexion  with  the  sim- 
plicity of  our  civil  and  religious  institutions.  Men 
will  not  be  trampled  upon,  nor  will  they  have  their 
sensibilities  and  their  taste  outraged.  If  there  is  not 
a  general  state  of  things  that  wdll  secure  them  against 
this,  they  will  retire  behind  a  standing  army,  and  be- 
hind forms.  Relatively  to  certain  states  of  society, 
these  may  be  necessar}^ ;  and  we  ought  to  choose  them 
for  the  sake  of  the  liberty  and  the  religion  which 
may  exist  in  connexion  wdth  them.  But  in  such  a 
state  of  things  we  should  feel  that  the  highest  ideal  of 
society  was  not  reached,  and  we  should  be  constantly 
apprehensive  that  both  liberty  and  religion  would  be, 
as  they  have  so  often  been,  overlaid  and  crushed  by 
that  which  ought  to  nourish  and  protect  them. 

But  Avhatever  the  future  course  of  events  may  be, 
the  past  is  secure ;  and  God  has  dealt  bountifullv  with 


SERMON.  53 

US  in  permitting  us  to  live  to  the  extent  we  have, 
under  the  influence  of  such  a  past.  It  has  been  shown, 
and  nothing  can  falsify  the  record,  that  man  may  be- 
come so  capable  of  self-government,  that  is,  of  imme- 
diate subjection  to  principle  and  to  God,  both  in  state 
and  in  church,  as  to  accomplish  as  fully  as  they  have 
ever  yet  been,  all  the  legitimate  objects  both  of  the 
church  and  the  State. 

Nor  has  this  County  been  behind  the  general  stand- 
ard of  New  England,  or  of  our  own  State  in  the  fruits 
which  might  be  expected  from  such  a  state  of  things. 
Here  there  has  been  general  intelligence,  security,  and 
order.  Here  have  been  churches  that  have  walked  in 
the  faith  and  order  of  the  Gospel.  Here  have  been 
christian  pastors  who  have  done  honor  to  their  pro- 
fession, and  been  models  in  it.  Where  shall  we  find 
more  able  divines,  or  better  pastors,  or  men  of  a  wider 
and  holier  influence  than  Edwards,  and  Hopkins, 
and  West  and  Hyde  ?  No  where  has  the  standard 
of  ministerial  character  and  acquirement  been  higher. 
Here  too  there  has  been  a  spirit  of  benevolence  most 
diff'usive,  and  unrestricted  by  a  regard  to  sect.  It  is 
well  known  that  if  means  are  needed  to  carry  on  the 
great  cause  of  education,  or  of  benevolence  generally, 
there  is  no  place  to  which  men  come  with  the  same 
confidence,  and  the  same  success,  as  to  New  England. 
It  is  chiefly  among  her  hills  that  those  streams  rise, 
that  flow  over  the  west,  and  over  heathen  lands,  to 
make  glad  the  city  of  our  God.  In  this  respect,  so  far 
as  I   have   the   means   of  comparison,    this   County 

G 


34  ULUKSIIIKK    JVliiLEE. 

liatli  w  lirrrof  to  fflory,  thouj^h  not  before  God.     The 
PxMksliirc  and  Columbia  Missionary  Society  was  form- 
ed Feb.  21st,    1798,  and  so  iar  as  I  know  was  the^ first 
missionary  society  formed  in  New  England,  if  not  in 
this  country.     The  Connecticut  Society  was  formed  in 
June  of  the  same  year,  and  the  Massachusetts  Society 
in  May  of  the  year  following.     The  formation  of  these 
societies  so  near  the  same  time,  shows  that  the  spring 
had  come  over  the  land,  but  the  fact  that  this  was 
formed  first,  shows  that  Berkshire  was  among  the  ear- 
liest and  most  sunny  spots.     This  society  existed  and 
was  efficient  till  within  a  few  years,  when  it  was  ab- 
sorbed in  larger  societies.     This  was  a  Home  Mission- 
ary Society,  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  here  was 
formed  the  first  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  and,  I  may 
add,  the  first  Agricultural   Society,    it   will  be   seen 
that  important  movements  have  originated  among  us. 
The  statistics  of  benevolence,  except  in  connexion 
with  the  Bible  Society,  I  have  not  the  means  of  ascer- 
taining.    From  these  it  appears  that  the  donations  of 
the  Berkshire  society  to  the  parent  societ)^,  have  been 
larger  than  those  of  any  other  society,  whether  of  a 
county  or  of  a  State,  with  the  exception  of  the  State 
society  of  Virginia  Avhich  exceeds  it  by  between  two 
and  three  thousand  dollars  only ;  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  four  State  societies,  and  those  in  the   city  of 
New- York,  the  whole  remittances  of  this  society,  are 
larger  than  those  of  any  society  in  the   Union.     In 
some,  and  indeed  in  most  of  the  States,  there  are  coun- 
ty societies  formed,  but  this  society  has  given  more  as 


SERMON.  55 

a  donation  to  the  parent  society  than  the  whole  State 
of  Vermont.  And  these  facts  are  the  more  remarkable 
when  we  remember  that  all  this  has  been  done  with- 
out any  expense  of  agencies.  The  parent  society  has 
sometimes  been  represented  at  the  annual  meeting, 
but  has  never  had  an  agent  to  traverse  the  County.  I 
can  hardly  suppose  it  would  be  so,  and  yet  I  know  of 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  comparison  would  not 
be  as  favorable  to  the  County,  if  we  had  the  means  of 
comparing  the  statistics  of  the  other  great  benevolent 
operations  of  the  day. 

This  may  seem  more  immediately  to  concern  those 
who  have  remained  in  the  County;  but  I  am  speaking 
of  the  results  of  those  influences  under  which  we  have 
been  nurtured ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  our 
brethren  who  have  gone  out  from  us,  have  been  equal- 
ly liberal.  And  if  we  have  been  blessed  with  the 
means  of  giving,  and  have  been  practically  taught  the 
great  truth  that  "it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive," how  could  God  have  dealt  more  bountifully 
with  us  ?  How  much  better  is  it  to  be  nurtured  among 
a  plain  people  who  give  liberally  for  the  objects  of  be- 
nevolence, rather  than  among  those  whose  resources 
are  either  hoarded,  or  spent  in  the  selfish  ostentation 
of  fashion !  The  heavens  give  their  rain  as  they  form 
it,  and  the  noblest  use  of  wealth  is  to  dispense  it  as  it 
is  gathered,  to  refresh  the  waste  places  of  the  earth. 

The  features  of  society,  and  influences  from  it  of 
which  I  have  now  spoken,  we  share  in  common  with 
much  of  New  Ensrland.     There  are  others  which  be- 


56  IlEUKSHIUE   JUBILEE. 

lorif^  to  US  as  tho  inhabitants  of  Berkshire.  Unlike 
most  counties,  Berkshire,  having  a  peculiar  geolofj^ical 
lorniation,  is  a  place  by  itself,  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  world  by  natural  boundaries ;  it  has  also  been  a 
crood  deal  secluded ;  and  while  we  have  been  a  New 
Enf^dand  people,  our  business  intercourse  has  been  with 
New- York.  Each  of  these  circumstances  has  had  its 
influence  upon  us,  so  that  between  us  and  our  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  vState,  there  is  a  per- 
ceptible difference.  To  the  first  two  circumstances 
mentioned,  together  with  the  beauty  of  our  scenery, 
is  owing  that  County  feeling  in  which  this  occasion 
originated;  and  in  connexion  with  these,  if  not  in 
consequence  of  them,  there  has  been  extensively  among 
us  that  happy  combination  of  a  cultivation  and  taste 
and  refinement  no  where  exceeded,  with  genuine  sim- 
plicity and  heartiness  of  character,  which  gives  to  so- 
ciety its  highest  charm. 

But  that  the  whole  influence  of  these  circumstances 
has  been  favorable,  I  would  by  no  means  assert,  nor 
would  I  represent  the  aspect  of  society  as  better  than  it 
is.  Seclusion  is  not  always  connected  with  innocence 
and  simplicity.  On  the  contrary  there  may  often  be 
found  in  such  situations,  ignorance,  and  narrowness, 
and  inveterate  prejudice,  and  low  vice.  Small  and 
secluded  villages,  little  clusters  of  houses  among  the 
mountains  with  some  place  where  intoxicating  drink 
is  sold,  are  often,  if  we  except  the  dens  in  the  cities, 
as  wretched  and  hopeless  places  as  are  to  be  found  on 
earth.     These  we  have  had,  and  still  have.     They  are 


SERMON.  57 

as  remote  bays  into  which  the  current  of  reform  and 
improvement  sets  back  slowly.  Owing  in  part,  to  the 
influence  of  these  places,  we  are  behind  some  others 
in  the  great  Temperance  Reformation.  That  cause  has 
made  encouraging  progress  here,  and  its  present  as- 
pect is  hopeful,  but  I  blush  to  say  that  there  are  still 
those  among  us  who  seem  bent  on  continuing  a  traffic 
which,  in  enormity  and  moral  turpitude  may  fairly 
be  ranked  with  the  slave  trade.  It  is  owing  in  part, 
to  our  seclusion  also,  that  the  recent  movement  in 
favor  of  our  common  schools  has  been  more  tardy  and 
inefficient  than  it  should  have  been. 

But  while  we  feel  and  regret  these  and  other  evils 
which  a  strange  or  an  unfriendly  eye  might  notice, 
we  feel  that  they  are  slight  in  comparison  with  the 
bounties  of  Providence,  and  the  civil  and  social  bless- 
ings with  which  we  are  surrounded.  We  still  rejoice 
to  feel  and  say 

"This  is  our  own,  our  native  land." 

These  arc  our  fathers  and  mothers,  our  brothers  and 
sisters,  our  wives  and  children,  our  schools  and 
churches ;  these  are  our  mountains,  and  vallies,  and 
lakes,  and  streams ;  our  skies,  and  clouds,  and  storms ; 
and  we  feel  that  in  casting  our  lot  among  them,  God 
has  dealt  bountifully  with  us. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  second  part  of  the  subject, 
and  consider  the  exhortation —  "  Return  unto  thy  rest, 
O  my  soul."  There  is,  my  friends,  a  rest  to  the  soul. 
Rest,  rest  —  O !  said  one,  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove, 


41 
58  UERKSHinE    JUBILEE. 

then  would  I  fly  away  and  be  at  rest.  And  wlio  has 
not  said  thus  —  at  rest  from  turbulent  passions  and 
uneasy  desires,  from  perplexing  doubts  and  anxious 
fears,  at  rest  from  the  annoyances  and  evils  that  come 
from  the  misconduct  of  others ;  at  rest,  not  in  mere 
quiescence,  but  in  full  fruition  —  and  this  rest  is  in 
God  alone. 

I  have  stated  in  the  former  part  of  the  discourse 
how  it  is  that  our  enjoyment  arises,  not  independently 
from  our  constitution  taken  by  itself,  but  from  rela- 
tions and  correspondencies  between  that  and  other 
things  which  God  has  created.  He  has  constituted  a 
relation  between  the  organ  of  taste  and  food,  between 
the  ear  and  sound,  between  the  eye  and  light,  between 
the  atmosphere  and  the  lungs,  between  the  whole  ani- 
mate and  inanimate  creation  and  the  capacities  and 
wants  of  man,  and  from  these  sources  man  may  de- 
rive, and  in  proportion  as  he  conforms  himself  to  the 
constitution  of  God,  will  derive,  a  subordinate  and 
temporary  good.  But  as  an  ultimate  good,  there  is  no 
correspondence  between  the  soul  and  any  created 
thino^.  In  them  the  soul  cannot  rest.  As  containino^  a 
true  and  permanent  good,  they  are  all  as  broken  cis- 
terns that  can  hold  no  water.  No,  God  did  not  make 
us  to  be  satisfied  with  the  creature.  In  the  fulness  of 
his  condescension,  in  the  richness  of  his  benevolence, 
in  the  yearnings  of  his  paternal  love  he  would  take  us 
to  his  arms ;  he  proposes  himself  as  our  true  good  and 
final  rest.  It  is  indeed,  a  pleasant  thing  to  behold  the 
sun;  verv  sjlorious  is  he  as  he  cometh  out  of  his  cham- 


SERMON.  59 

ber,  and  bathes  earth  and  heaven  in  his  light;  but 
upon  the  soul  that  knows  God  and  rests  in  him,  there 
shines  a  light  that  is  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun. 
To  him  there  is  another  morning  risen  upon  the  high 
noon  of  all  created  glory.  That  glory  must  fade.  The 
sun  himself  must  be  quenched,  but  as  the  eye  of  filial 
love  is  strengthened  to  behold  them,  the  splendors  that 
surround  the  throne  of  God  increase  and  brighten,  and 
shall  do  so  forevermore.  Around  that  throne  the  noon- 
tide of  glory  eternally  reigns,  and  as  the  eye  of  the 
child  of  God  drinks  it  in,  his  peace  will  be  as  a  river, 
and  he  will  exclaim,  this,  this  is  my  rest.  Such  is 
the  rest  of  the  soul.     To  such  a  rest  we  are  invited. 

It  is  this  great  and  fundamental  truth  —  that  there 
is  no  true  rest  for  the  soul  of  man  except  in  God  that 
needs  to  be  proclaimed  at  all  times,  and  every  where. 
Look  at  the  restlessness  of  individuals  and  of  society, 
look  at  the  billowy  ocean  of  the  past  as  seen  in  histo- 
ry, and  what  does  it  indicate  but  that  the  true  rest  of 
man  has  not  been  found.  See  the  world  busy  in  let- 
ting down  empty  cups  into  wells  that  are  dry,  or  drink- 
ing to  "  thirst  again ;"  see  individuals  passing  through 
all  the  stages  of  poverty  and  of  wealth,  of  neglect  and  of 
distinction ;  see  states  assuming  every  form  of  govern- 
ment from  the  freest  democracy  to  the  most  abso- 
lute monarchy,  and  yet  there  is,  and  there  will  be 
"  overturning,  and  overturning,  and  overturning,"  till 
men  find  the  true  rest  of  their  souls,  and  he  whose 
right  it  is  shall  assume  his  spiritual  and  perfect  reign. 

Yes,  it  is  to  such  a  rest  that  we  are  invited ;  and  how 


00  BEIIKSIIIUE   JUBILEE. 

aliecliiig  istliu  motive  ])y  which  the  invitation  is  urged! 
"For  the  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee." 
And  my  friends,  in  view  of  what  has  been  said,  may 
I  not  urge  this  motive  upon  you?  How  much  more 
when  I  call  to  your  remembrance  his  Redeeming  Love ! 
In  the  reason  here  given,  we  see  how  different  is  the 
temper  of  a  good  man  from  that  of  the  children  of  the 
world.  How  common  is  the  feeling  that  in  our  adver- 
sity we  must  go  to  God — that  we  will,  when  we  have 
nothing  else  left  to  enjoy,  seek  him ;  but  when  we  are 
in  prosperity,  how  apt  are  we  to  lose  sight  of  God  and 
to  rest  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  gifts.  This  is  the  great 
practical  mistake,  the  infinite  guilt  of  man,  and  the 
world  never  can  be  in  a  right  state,  till  men  can 
not  only  enjoy  God  in  himself,  but  in  his  gifts ;  till 
they  learn  that  the  good  gifts  of  God  are  best  enjoyed, 
and  then  only  answer  their  true  end,  when  they  lead 
us  to  him.  Nothing  can  be  more  utterly  false,  or  more 
disastrous,  than  this  separation  of  cheerfuhiess  and 
rational  enjoyment  from  the  remembrance  and  the 
presence  of  God;  nothing  can  more  dishonor  him 
whose  smile  brightens  creation,  whose  presence  makes 
heaven.  But  thus  is  he  dishonored.  A  necessary 
condition  of  the  pleasures  of  the  world  is  forgetful- 
ncss  of  God.  Like  our  first  parents  in  the  garden, 
men  would  hide  themselves  from  him.  The  conscious- 
ness of  his  presence  in  the  midst  of  such  pleasures  as 
they  choose  would  be  to  them  "as  the  shadow  of 
death."  His  religion,  the  blessed  religion  of  Christ, 
instead  of  being  like  the  light,  not  indeed  always  the 


SERMON.  61 

direct  object  of  thought,  but  as  an  element  pervading 
and  irradiating  all  social  intercourse,  is  regarded  by 
them  as  the  antagonist  of  their  chosen  enjoyments. 
From  enjoyments  of  which  this  is  the  spirit,  whatever 
may  be  the  form,  men  who  would  be  christians,  truly 
such,  must  separate  themselves.  They  must  find  God 
in  his  mercies;  when  he  deals  bountifully  with  them, 
their  souls  will  return  unto  their  rest.  They  can  seek 
no  enjoyment  upon  which  they  cannot  ask  the  bless- 
ing of  God.  They  can  mingle  in  no  scenes  in  which 
the  remembrance  of  him  would  be  unwelcome,  and 
they  must  labor,  and  pray,  and  be  content  to  be  re- 
garded as  over  strict,  till  there  is  such  a  change  in  the 
moral  elements,  that  reason,  and  conscience,  and  the 
affections,  and  taste,  shall  predominate  over  the  pas- 
sions and  appetites  of  men,  and  till  men  can  enjoy  the 
good  gifts  of  God  as  dutiful  children  under  the  eye  of 
an  affectionate  parent.  It  must  be  made  to  appear,  it  will 
be  made  to  appear,  that  there  is  no  antagonism  be- 
tween the  temperate  use  of  God's  gifts  and  the  highest 
social  enjoyment. 

It  was  in  the  hope  that  this  occasion  might  do 
something  towards  bringing  forward  a  consummation 
so  desirable,  that  I  was  willing  to  take  part  in  it ;  that, 
in  connexion  with  this  sacred  service,  I  was  willing  to 
be  the  organ  of  my  fellow-citizens  to  welcome  home 
those  who  had  gone  out  from  us.  And  this  I  now  do. 
Natives,  and  former  citizens  of  Berkshire,  1  welcome 
you — not  to  bacchanalian  revels,  not  to  costly  enter- 
tainments,   not   to   the    celebration   of  any   party   or 

H 


63  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

national  triumph,  but  to  the  old  homestead,  to  these 
sceni's  of  your  early  days,  to  these  mountains  and  val- 
lies,  and  streams,  and  skies,  to  the  hallowed  resting 
places  of  the  dear  departed ;  I  welcome  you  to  the 
warm  grasp  of  kindred  and  friends,  to  rational  fes- 
tivity—  to  the  Berkshire  Jubilee. 

So  far  as  I  know,  this  gathering  is  unprecedented. 
More  than  any  thing  else  in  modern  times,  it  reminds 
us  of  those  gatherings  of  ancient  Israel,  when  the 
tribes  went  up  to  Mount  Zion;  and  if  we  look  to  the 
future,  it  cannot  fail  to  remind  us  of  that  greater  gath- 
ering, of  that  better  home,  of  those  higher  joys  which 
there  shall  be  when  "  they  shall  come  from  the  East, 
and  the  West,  and  the  North,  and  the  South,  and  shall 
sit  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the 
kingdom  of  God."  With  that  great  assembly  may  we 
all  be  gathered.     Amen!  » 


PI  ULIC     EXERCI8E3.  63 


5.  ANTHEM.     Tune— /^f/i/nar/c. 

Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne, 
Ye  nations,  bow  with  sacred  joy  ; 

Know  that  the  Lord  is  God  alone ; 
He  can  create,  and  he  destroy. 

His  sovereign  power,  without  our  aid, 
Made  us  of  clay,  and  form'd  us  men; 

And  when,  like  wandering  sheep,  we  stray' d, 
He  brought  us  to  his  fold  again. 

We'll  crowd  thy  gates  with  thankful  songs ; 

High  as  the  heavens  our  voices  raise ; 
And  earth,  with  her  ten  thousand  tongues. 

Shall  fill  thy  courts  with  sounding  praise. 

Wide  —  as  the  world,  is  thy  command, 

Vast  —  as  eternity,  thy  love  ; 
Firm — as  a  rock,  thy  truth  must  stand, 

When  rolling  years  shall  cease  to  move. 


A  .POEM, 


DELIVEKED    AT 


THE   BERKSHIRE  JUBILEE, 

AUGUST  22,  1844. 


By  WILLIAM  ALLEN,  D.D. 


A  POEM. 


I. 

The  Sons  of  Berkshire  here  in  mighty  throng, 
And  many  drawn  from  home  'neath  distant  sky, — 

What  heaves  our  bosoms  with  emotions  strong? 
What  burning  thoughts  now  kindle  up  each  eye  ? 

II. 

We  stand  amidst  the  scenes  of  early  days: — 
Our  brook  and  river,  hill  and  mountain-height. 

On  meadow,  field,  and  lake  once  more  we  gaze, 
Which  fill'd  our  heart  in  youth  with  pure  delight. 

III. 
The  Rainbow's  wondrous  arch  first  saw  we  here, 

On  gloomy  sky  when  setting  sun  outshone, — 
Its  hues  of  blue,  and  gold,  and  red  all-clear, — 

God's  sign  no  second  flood  the  earth  shall  drown. 

IV. 

First  heard  we  here  the  Robin's  song  of  joy, 
Outpouring  from  the  tree  at  early  morn; 

The  Bluebird  here  first  charm'd  our  gazing  eye, 
And  sacred  Swallow  on  swift  wing  upborne. 

V. 

Here  first  in  infancy  the  look  of  love. 

Dearer  than  rainbow's  hues,  pure  bliss  conferr'd: 
Here  first  affection's  voice,  as  from  above, 

Struck  sweeter  on  our  ear,  than  song  of  bird. 


70  BERKSHIRE  JUBILEE. 

VI. 

Yon  Saddle-Mountain  in  its  azure  hue, 

All-mingled  with  the  thoughts  and  scenes  of  yore, 

Oh,  with  what  joy  it  rises  to  thy  view, 

Son  of  Pontoosuc  !  at  thy  home  once  more  1 

VII. 

So  every  Son  of  Berkshire  turns  his  eye 

To  some  old  mountain-head,  of  much-loved  form, 

Majestic  rising  in  the  cloudless  sky. 

Or  turban'd  thick  with  drapery  of  the  storm. 

VIII. 

And  each  reveres  some  venerable  tree, 

Beneath  whose  shade  was  scene  of  sweet  delight, 

Like  our  Old  Elm,  which  joyful  here  we  see. 

Though  lightning-ploughed,  still  towering  in  its  height. 

IX. 

Where'er  we  wander,  led  by  various  fate, 
Whate'er  of  grace  or  grandeur  there  may  be, 

There's  nought  elsewhere  so  lovely  and  so  great:  — 
Our  heart,  unwandering,  Berkshire,  turns  to  thee  ! 

X. 

Their  Alpine  heights  sublime  the  Swiss  may  boast, 
In  dazzling  whiteness  glittering  in  the  sun;  — 

'Tis  sterile  grandeur,  bound  in  ceaseless  frost, 
And  unapproach'dj  like  despot's  dreary  throne. 

XI. 

Beneath  the  tropic  sun  each  wide-spread  plain 
Of  luscious  fruits  may  heaviest  burden  bear; 

But  asks  the  eye  for  swelling  hill  in  vain, 
And  pestilence  is  winged  on  evening's  air. 


POEM.  7^ 

XII. 

Our  mountains,  wood-crowned,  cheer  the  gazing  eye, — 
Whence  bursting  rills  in  constant  murmurs  flow: 

Health  vigorous  walks  beneath  th'  untainted  sky, 
And  peace  and  joy  our  heaven-bless'd  dwellings  know. 

XIII. 

We  love  the  stream,  the  lake,  o'erhung  with  wood, 
The  fields  of  green  and  cool  recess  of  grove; — 

'Tis  symbol-scene  of  purer,  sweeter  good, 
Fore'er  enjoyed  in  the  high  heavens  above. 

XIV. 
We  come  to  think  of  what  our  Fathers  were, — 

Of  Mothers,  Sisters,  Brothers,  here  of  yore; 
To  breathe  again  our  Childhood's  fragrant  air. 

And  Childhood's  loveliest  home  to  see  once  more. 

XV. 
We  come  to  strengthen  in  our  inmost  mind 

Our  child-learned  principles,  all  good  and  true; 
And  here  to  worship,  in  one  band  entwin'd, 

In  Father-land  our  Fathers'  God  anew. 

XVI. 

As  aged  Jew  his  holy  city  seeks, 

Holding  first  place  within  his  weary  soul. 
So,  Berkshire!  on  our  eyes  thy  splendor  breaks, 

And  wakes  the  feelings,  that  refuse  control. 

XVII. 
Our  Fathers'  Sepulchres! — Are  they  not  here, 

O'er  many  a  hill  and  vale  wide-scattered  round? 
No  more  their  venerable  forms  appear ; 

But  memory  brings  them  from  the  turf-clad  ground. 
I 


72  UEKKSHIKE    JUBILEE. 

XVIII. 

We  seem  to  see  again  their  lofty  brow, 

Calm  and  yet  firmly  fix'd;  their  steadfast  eye, 

Yet  beaming  mildly;  and  their  head  of  snow, 
With  all  their  worth  and  reverent  majesty. 

XIX. 
These  mountain-circled  valleys  for  their  home 

They  chose,  where  silver  lakes  outspread  are  seen, 
Where  rush  the  numerous  streams  and  dash  in  foam, 

And  Housatunnuk  winds  through  meadows  green. 

XX. 

The  Red-Man's  land  they  gain'd  by  purchase  fair. 
And  them  by  light  of  truth  they  sought  to  save: — 

The  remnant  now, — such  fruits  of  zeal  and  care, — 
Have  Christian  home  near  Winnebago's  wave. 

XXI. 
Here  first,  a  hundred  years  ago  and  more, 

A  Mission-School,  on  Housatunnuk's  stream, 
To  wilder'd  men  explain'd  the  Christian  lore, 

And  cheer'd  their  gloom  by  heaven's  effulgent  beam: 

XXII. 
Their  Teachers  Sergeant,  polish'd  and  refined. 

His  heart  all-burning  with  a  holy  flame; 
And  Edwards  too,  the  man  of  mighty  mind. 

The  world's  great  teacher  still, — illustrious  name! 

XXIII. 
We  glory  in  this  spot,  which  gave  us  birth. 

Where  first  God's  wonders  burst  upon  our  sight: — 
No  fairer  region  doth  the  wheeling  earth 

Turn  up  from  darkness  to  the  sun's  blest  light. 


POEM.  73 

XXIV. 
How  beautiful  is  Nature?     How  the  eye 

Lights  up  with  joy  at  all  the  varied  scene; — 
Hill,  vale,  and  stream,  and  wood,  and  calm  blue  sky. 

The  harvest  field,  and  mead  in  living  green  1 

XXV. 

And  when  the  pulses  of  each  tree  are  dead. 
Or  beating  feebly,  checked  by  chilling  frost, 

What  gorgeous  hues  on  every  side  are  spread, 
Shaming  the  Italian  pencil  in  its  boast? 

XXVI. 
Nature  is  but  God's  glorious  temple  vast. 

With  hosts  of  cheerful  worshippers  around  : — 
And,  while  this  temple  stands,  the  song  shall  last, 

And  earth  shall  hear  and  heaven  reflect  the  sound. 

XXVII. 

The  rushing  brook,  the  tuneful,  blithsome  bird. 

The  busy  hum  of  insects  on  the  flower, 
And  solemn  voice  of  grove,  by  breezes  stirred; — 

These  are  but  hymns  to  God's  eternal  power. 

XXVIII. 

All  Nature  constant  works  to  some  great  end: — 

The  giant  sun  doth  life  and  joy  uphold; 
Dew,  rain,  and  stream  the  richest  blessings  send; 

And  verdant,  blossom'd  tree  yields  fruit  of  gold. 

XXIX. 

Amid  these  various  scenes,  O  man,  rejoice. 
And  willing  join  in  Nature's  service  blest: — 

'Tis  thine  to  raise  thy  clear,  articulate  voice. 
And  of  this  host  to  stand  as  sacred  priest. 


74  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

XXX. 

Then,  Son  of  Berkshire!  who  dost  joyful  move 
In  beauteous,  peerless  temple  of  thy  God, 

Lift  up  thy  grateful,  ceaseless  song  of  love. 

And  work  for  truth,  and  bear  the  fruits  of  good ! 

XXXI. 

Amidst  the  charms  of  Nature  they,  who  dwell, 
Where  all  is  loveliness,  and  joy,  and  peace, — 

Ah,  how  can  they  such  peace  and  joy  dispel, 
And  by  their  guilt  such  loveliness  deface? 

XXXII. 
Where  purest  crystal  waters  murmur  round. 

No  turbid  stream  of  vice  should  ever  flow; 
Nor  float  upon  the  air  an  evil  sound. 

Where  blithsome  birds  their  melodies  bestow. 

XXXIII. 

In  such  a  temple,  reared  by  matchless  power, 
Ne'er  should  polluting  thought  or  wish  intrude  j 

But  praises  flow  to^God  each  circling  hour, — 
The  offering  of  the  soul's  deep  gratitude. 

XXXIV. 
Not  Tempe's  boasted  vale  e'er  shone  so  bright, 

With  trees  so  broad,  with  grassy  turf  so  green: 
Each  Mountain  form,  uptowering  in  his  might. 

Stands  as  the  giant-guardian  of  the  scene. 

XXXV. 

Old  Greylock  at  the  north  uplifts  his  head, 
And  kindly  looks  on  Learning's  vale  below; 

And  southward,  Washington,  of  bulk  outspread, 
O'erpeers  rich  plains,  where  winding  rivers  flow. 


POEM.  76 

XXXVI. 

Trace  up  thy  current,  Deerfield,  to  its  source, 

And,  Westfield,  thine, — by  smoke-horse  travers'd  now, — 

By  many  an  arch  bestrided  in  its  course; — 
Your  springs  well  forth  from  Berkshire's  wood-crown'd  brow. 

XXXVII. 

Then  Hoosuc  westward  takes  his  joyful  way. 
To  mingle  with  broad  Hudson's  noble  tide; 

While  southward,  where  the  ocean-monsters  play, 
Flows  Housatunnuk,  river  of  our  pride. 

XXXVIII. 

Thus  Berkshire's  Sons  are  scatter'd  far  and  near. 
Each  tide  of  good  to  swell,  wherever  found, — 

From  Virtue's  fountains  starting  pure  and  clear. 
And  pouring  blessings  on  our  land  around. 

XXXIX. 

Of  men,  who  stir  the  eloquent  debate 

In  legislative  halls;  of  those,  who  weigh 
The  right  in  scales  of  justice,  and  the  State 

Know  how  to  govern  in  an  honest  way; — 

XL. 

Of  strong-arm'd  sons,  who  delve  in  learning's  mine. 
And  those  with  power  to  win  reluctant  heart; 

Of  daughters  too,  whom  taste  and  skill  refine. 
Who  weave  the  tale  of  truth  with  gentle  art, 

XLI. 
Berkshire  may  boast; — yet  'tis  a  nobler  pride. 

That  thousands  of  her  unknown  sons  are  wise. 
Contented  with  their  lot,  ne'er  turn'd  aside 

From  holy  path,  that  leads  up  to  the  skies. 


76  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

XLII. 

The  hcavcn-dyed  violet  in  its  native  shade 
Fragrance  diffuses  through  the  forest  gloom: 

No  flower  in  royal  garden  is  arrayed 
Like  our  white  water-liliy  in  its  bloom. 

XLIII. 
No  foot  of  slave  e'er  treads  our  sacred  soil, — 

No  culture  here,  compell'd  by  cruel  blows: 
We  deem  it  health,  and  joy,  and  wealth  to  toil; 

'Tis  heaven's  command,  and  heaven  reward  bestows. 

XLIV. 

None  here  the  forms  of  industry  deride: — 
All-glittering  in  the  clod  the  plough  to  hold; 

From  liberal  hand  the  seed  to  scatter  wide, 
And  plant  in  many  a  hill  the  maize  of  gold: — 

XLV. 

To  gather  in  the  fruits,  the  earth  hath  borne: 

The  scythe  to  wield,  where  waves  the  grass  in  light; 

To  ply  the  careful  sickle;  and  the  corn 

To  husk  in  merry  mood; — 'tis  pure  delight  ! 

XLVI. 
The  herds,  the  fine-woolled  flocks  to  feed  and  train; 

To  watch  the  shuttle,  as  it  quickly  flies; 
Deep  in  the  mine  to  trace  the  metal's  vein. 

The  rocks  to  quarry  in  the  open  skies: 

XLVII. 
In  graceful  shapes  the  marble  blocks  to  mould 

And  stubborn  wood;  the  milky  treasures  press; 
Iron  with  strength  of  arm  to  turn  to  gold: — 

These  various  toils  fail  not  to  enrich  and  bless.  . 


POEM.  77 

XL  VIII. 

Poor,  listless  man  of  indolent  repose, 

Of  unknit  frame  and  mind  of  feeble  might ! 

Come,  taste  the  good,  which  industry  bestows, 

And  work  out  health,  and  power,  and  sweet  delight. 

XLIX. 
'Tis  toil,  that  braces  both  the  frame  and  mind: — 

In  wrestling  with  the  wind  the  tree  grows  strong; 
Mantled  with  green  the  stagnant  pool  we  find, 

But  pure  the  streams,  which  murmuring  rush  along.   ' 

L. 
Is  there  a  spot  upon  this  earthly  ball. 

Where  brighter  beams  of  truth  are  shed  around, 
Where  showers  of  heavenly  dew  more  frequent  fall, 

And  richer  fruits  of  faith  and  love  are  found  7 

LI. 

Is  there  a  mountain-guarded  vale  below, 

Where  many  a  thousand  purer  spirits  move, — 

More  bless'd  with  streams  of  good,  which  ceaseless  flow, — 
With  eyes  more  fix'd  on  glorious  hopes  above  ? 

LIT. 
Let  not  thy  birth-soil  waken  evil  pride, 

But  rather  kindly  counsel  bring  to  thee, — 
That  to  this  scene  thy  heart  be  full-allied, 

So  Eden  and  its  tenant  shall  agree. 

LIII. 

Ah,  how  canst  thou  withstand  the  influence  here, — 
The  incitements  to  all  goodness,  that  abound, — 

The  voice  of  Nature  in  its  tones  so  clear. 
And  all  her  lovelieess  diffused  around; — 


78  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

LIV. 

The  memory  of  the  illustrious,  holy  dead, — 
Their  pure  example  drawing  to  the  right, — 

Their  winning  words,  their  warning  note  of  dread, 
Their  final  prayer,  as  fled  they  from  thy  sight; — 

LV. 
The  power  of  truth,  that  as  a  river  flows, 

The  heaven- ward  summons  of  the  Sabbath  bell; — 
Ah,  how  canst  thou  such  influence  here  oppose. 

Yet  hope  with  all  the  good  in  heaven  to  dwell? 

LVI. 

It  is  the  Church,  our  paradise  hath  made, — 

The  truth,  the  grace,  the  power  of  God  on  high;- 

The  holy  Church, — not  in  one  dress  arrayed, — 
But  one  in  faith,  in  love,  in  piety. 

LVII. 
Beneath  our  soil  is  found  the  iron  ore, — 

But  iron  strength  of  soul  is  better  far: 
Our  hills  are  marble  pure, — but  pure  much  more 

Is  stainless  beauty,  bright  as  evening  star. 

LVIII. 
Both  strength  and  beauty,  dignity  and  grace 

In  Berkshire's  peerless  vale  delight  to  dwell; — 
May  nought  such  joyous  harmony  deface. 

Or  charms  of  innocence  and  love  dispel. 

LIX. 

Our  Fathers  blaz'd  the  trees  along  their  way; — 
No  other  path  to  this  our  heritage! — 

Their  aim  to  find  enlargement,  and  to  lay 
Foundations  solid  for  a  future  age. 


POEM.  79 

LX. 
The  forest  falls  before  their  sturdy  blows; 

Their  shining  plough-share  revels  in  the  soil: 
Full  soon  the  desert  blossoms  like  the  rose, 

And  plentifulness  rewards  their  patient  toil. 

LXI. 

Wealth  was  not  all  they  sought;  for  they  would  train 
Their  children  in  the  path,  which  leads  on  high: — 

Hence  quick  the  School-House  rises  on  each  plain, 
And  sacred  Temple  points  up  to  the  sky. 

LXII. 

Nor  trembled  those  brave  men,  when  reckless  foe 
Approach'd  the  northern  entrance  of  their  vale: 

They  met  him  at  the  gate,  and  struck  the  blow. 
That  turn'd  the  invader's  boast  to  piteous  wail. 

LXIII. 

Themselves  descended  from  the  Pilgrim  band, 

Who  from  the  May-Flower  stept  on  Plymouth  rock, — 

The  same  their  spirit ;  and  their  strong  right  hand 
Freedom  maintain'd,  nor  fear'd  opposing  shock. 

LXIV. 

Their  trust  was  in  that  good  and  mighty  Power, 
Who  turns  the  tide  of  battle  from  the  strong; 

Nor  fail'd  their  hearts,  in  many  a  sacred  hour. 
To  lift  up  grateful  praise  and  holy  song. 

LXV. 
Oh,  height  of  Bennington!  thy  battle-field 

Witness'd  the  joyful  triumph  of  the  right: 
O'er  sacred  fire-side  bliss  it  spread  a  shield, 

And  taught  the  Hessian  hireling  freedom's  might. 
K 


80  IIIUKSIIIKK    JUBILEE. 

LXVI. 

Cwu  tlicy,  who  fell  thr  forest,  bend  the  knee, 
And  crouch  beneath  a  distant  tyrant's  nod? 

Can  they,  who  breathe  the  mountain  air  so  free, 
Quail  to  a  man,  as  if  he  were  a  god? 

LXVII. 

Freedom,  like  temperance,  loves  the  crystal  fountains; 

At  vain  restraint,  like  rushing  stream,  she  mocks: 
And,  eagle-like,  she  dwells  among  the  mountains 

In  fastnesses  of  steep  and  thorny  rocks! 

LXVIII. 
Shall  we  not  catch  our  Fathers'  patriot  zeal. 

Which  bore  the  battle-shock,  the  foe  o'erthrown, — 
And  like  them  ever  seek  our  Country's  weal, — 

Its  light,  and  peace,  and  joy,  and  high  renown? 

LXIX. 
No  more  may  war's  alarms  be  heard!  no  more 

May  blessed  freedom  pay  the  price  of  blood! 
May  Peace  e'er  hold  her  dwelling  on  our  shore, 

And  Righteousness  be  like  o'erflowing  flood ! 

LXX. 

Ask  we,  as  virtue's  meed,  for  earthly  fame, — 
The  shout  of  mortal  worms,  who  soon  must  die? 

Shall  history  bear  the  glory  of  our  name 
Down  to  a  dark,  unknown  futurity? 

LXXI. 

Of  spirits  lost  and  entered  on  their  doom, — 

The  blood-stained  heroes  of  our  warring  sphere, — 

In  their  abode  in  deepest  dungeon's  gloom 

Can  earth's  applausive  notes  e'er  reach  the  ear? 


POEM.  81 

LXXII. 
Give  me  a  name,  whose  record  is  on  high, — 

The  honor,  which  by  holy  deeds  is  won; — 
Give  me  the  fame,  which  truly  ne'er  shall  die, 

Imperishable  as  God's  eternal  throne! 

LXXIII. 

Such  is  the  fame  our  buried  Fathers  hold. 

Though  few  among  them  heard  applauses  loud: 

In  silent  path  of  duty  they  grew  old, 

Then  calmly  were  they  wrapped  in  winding  shroud. 

LXXIV. 
Yet  lofty  was  their  hope;  and,  as  one  said, 

When  in  the  final  conflict  called  to  strive, — 
So  felt  they  all,  as  breath  and  spirit  fled, — 

"  Say  ye,  I  die  1 — I'm  just  about  to  live!  " 

LXXV. 
Oh,  noble  speech!     My  Father!  it  was  thine, — 

First  preacher  here, — Pontoosuc's  guide  on  high! 
How  bright  around  did  his  example  shine  1 

How  fit  the  Pastor  teach  his  flock  to  die  ? 

LXXVI. 

Our  Fathers!     Should  their  names  my  lips  recall, 
Ye  sons  of  Berkshire,  in  your  hearing  now, — 

The  magic  words  would  every  sense  inthrall. 
While  pride  and  love  would  sit  on  every  brow! 

LXXVII. 
Ye  bear  their  names: — O,  then,  their  virtues  bear; — 

Self-sacrificing  zeal  for  Country's  good. 
Uprightness,  kindness,  truth,  anil  temperance  rare, — 

To  law  submission,  and  the  fear  of  God. 


82  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

LXXVIII. 

Yet  patriot-martyrs  claim  remembrance  due: — 

Williams^  fair  learning's  patron, — name  of  pride, — 

Struck  down,  as  victory  to  his  banners  flew, — 
Hopkins  and  Brovm, — these  for  their  country  died. 

LXXIX. 
Their  grave  was  on  the  field,  where  warriors  strove: 

No  chisell'd  stone  keeps  record  of  their  doom; — 
But  in  our  reverence,  gratitude,  and  love, 

In  Berkshire's  heart  they  have  uncrumbling  tomb! 

LXXX. 

Full  many  a  form  now  rises  in  my  thought 
Of  heroes,  who  the  beams  of  peace  beheld, 

Who  shared  the  blessings,  which  their  courage  bought, 
And  went  down  to  the  grave  all-white  with  eld; — 

LXXXI. 
Of  venerable  men,  who  by  the  scale 

Of  equal  justice  hush'd  unworthy  strife; — 
Of  Christian  heroes  too,  ne'er  known  to  quail 

In  contest  for  the  truth  and  heavenly  life, — 

LXXXII. 
Men,  deem'd  no  idlers  in  their  Master's  field, — 

Whose  deep  research,  whose  science,  faith,  and  love, 
And  fervent  utterance  of  the  truth  reveal'd 

The  ransom'd  souls, — their  crown, — shall  tell  above. 

LXXXIII. 
But  these  to  weave,  with  others,  in  my  strain 

Were  task,  to  which  no  end  would  soon  be  nigh. 
For  idle  is  the  toil,  the  effort  vain 

To  count  the  stars,  which  deck  the  evening  sky. 


POEM.  83 

LXXXIV. 
Old  men!     I  feel  with  you  life's  pulses  fail: — 

Full  two  score  suns  have  made  their  circuit  due, 
Since  first  in  this  my  native,  much-lov'd  vale 

My  trembling  lips  truth's  silver  trumpet  blew. 

LXXXV. 

Where  now  the  fair  and  good,  then  in  my  eye  ? 

This  day  recalls  them  from  the  gloom  of  night: 
The  past  revives;  the  distant  now  is  nigh; 

And  shadowy  forms  come  forth  in  memory's  light. 

LXXXVI. 
Had  ye  a  Mother  1     Ye  old  men,  white-haired! 

And  on  that  mother's  lap  your  flaxen  head 
It  was  your  wont  to  lay  ? — Now,  unimpaired, 

Her  face  ye  see;  her  form  though  with  the  dead! 

LXXXVII. 
Had  ye  a  Sister,  with  sweet  eye  of  blue, 

Loved  as  an  angel  in  a  by-gone  day  ? 
In  thought  your  lips  are  on  her  cheek  anew. 

Though  'neath  the  green-turf  moulder'd  all  away ! 

LXXxVlII. 
Had  ye  a  Daughter  in  her  freshest  bloom  ? 

Had  ye  a  Son  in  youth's  first  dignity  ? 
And  have  ye  placed  them  in  a  lowly  tomb  ? — 

They  live,  they  shine  now  in  your  aged  eye! 

LXXXIX. 
In  these  past  scenes  ye  live  of  grief  and  joy: 

From  these  to  future  ones  your  hearts  go  forth, — 
Your  children's  children  gleaming  on  your  eye, — 

New-springing  forms  of  beauty  and  of  worth. 


84  UERKSIIIRE   JUBILEE. 

XC. 

Anil  on  your  faith  yet  future  scenes  outbreak, 
To  you  and  all  the  good  and  righteous  given, — 

When  ye  and  they,  who  sleep,  from  dust  shall  wake, 
With  all  God's  holy  ones  your  Home  in  heaven! 

XCI. 
If  many  a  wild-flower  in  the  forest  dies, 

Think  not,  its  form  is  lost,  forever  gone: — 
In  beauty,  at  the  spring's  return,  'twill  rise. 

From  living  root  or  safe-lodg'd  seed  new-born. 

XCII. 
Then  weep  not  for  the  dead,  the  righteous  dead. 

Though  in  a  lowly  grave  their  ashes  rest: 
Their  spring  will  come;  and  from  their  humble  bed 

In  glory  will  they  rise,  forever  blest! 

XCIII. 
O,  day  of  hope!  the  broken  heart  that  heals. 

And  on  the  faded  eye  its  beams  outpours; 
Great  day,  which  all  deep  mysteries  reveals, 

And  to  the  soul  its  treasures  lost  restores! 

XCIV. 
O,  day  of  joy!  when  all  the  ransom'd  throng, 

Innumerous  as  the  stars,  that  shine  above, 
As  "  mighty  thuiiderings"  shall  raise  the  song, — 
All  glory  to  our  God,  whose  name  is  Love! 


( 


xcv. 

'  And  praises  to  the  Lamb,  the  Word,  the  Son, 
With  vesture  cloth'd,  all  dipp'din  crimson  blood  !'- 

And  thus  the  song  through  circling  years  shall  run, 
As  surges  on  the  shore  of  ocean's  flood. 


POEM.  35 

XCVI. 

Come,  come,  blest  clay!  when  buried  ones  again 
In  beauty  and  in  love  shall  meet  our  eyes, — 

Our  raptur'd  Toices  mingling  in  the  strain 
Of  heaven's  o'erjoyed,  eternal  harmonies  I 

XCVII. 
The  Fathers  in  their  Children  live  again, 

In  noble  deeds^and  spirit,  as  in  name, — 
(The  past  and  future  link'd  in  golden  chain, — ) 

Their  steadfast  faith,  and  zeal,  and  love  the  same. 

XCVIII. 

Where  widely  spread  the  shades  of  pagan  night, 
And  vice  and  doleful  wo  have  fix'd  their  throne, — 

There  have  the  Sons  of  Berkshire  borne  the  light j 
There  are  they  toiling,  till  their  crown  is  won. 

XCIX. 
If  one,  a  child  of  genius,  I  may  name, 

Of  my  own  flock  a  lamb  in  this  green  mead; — 
Larned,  though  falPn  in  youth,  has  deathless  famej 

And  still  for  truth  his  eloquence  shall  plead. 

C. 

Daughters  of  Berkshire,  where  may  they  be  found 
The  holy  teachers  of  their  Master's  word? — 

Go,  where  the  Turk,  whom  turban'd  guards  surround, 
Holds  o'er  a  race  of  slaves  his  sharp-edg'd  sword  : — 

CI. 
Go,  where  in  distant  isles  volcanic  fires 

Break  forth  in  torrents  as  of  molten  gold. 
And  where  fierce,  savage  men,  whom  truth  inspires, 

The  wonders  of  a  Savior's  love  behold: — 


86  llERKSIIIRE  JUBILEE. 

CII. 

Go,  where  in  western  wilds  the  Indian  race 
In  furious  troops  are  seen  to  rush  along, 

And  pierce  the  shaggy  bison  in  the  chase; — 
An  outcast  race,  the  victims  of  our  wrong: — 

cm. 

Daughters  of  Berkshire!     To  such  fields  ye  fly: 
Thus  are  ye  scatter'd  as  the  lights  of  earth, — 

As  stars  of  goodness  in  the  evening  sky, — 
Beyond  all  praise  and  worthy  of  your  birth! 

CIV. 
Our  Fathers!     Here  they  lived  and  here  they  died, — 

Adorn'd  with  virtue,  pious,  faithful,  free; — 
Bequeathing  us,  as  they  death's  path-way  tried, 

The  precious,  glorious  boon  of  Liberty! 

CV. 

Then  we,  their  Sons,  no  recreants  will  prove, 
Apostates  from  the  path,  in  w^hich  they  trod, — 

Nor  ingrates  to  the  sacred  names  we  love; — 
But  followers  in  their  steps,  which  lead  to  God! 

CVI. 

Ne'er  shall  their  Sons  the  truth's  they  loved,  despise;- 
Redemption  by  the  heaven-descended  One, 

Though  slain,  yet  soon  up-rising  to  the  skies, — 
O'er  death  and  hell  the  matchless  victory  won: — 

CVII. 

The  Holy  Spirit's  Irenovating  power, 

With  love  to  God  and  man  which  fills  the  heart; — 
The  guard  of  Providence  each  circling  hour; — 

A  heavenly  Home,  where  friends  shall  never  part! 


POEM.  87 


CVIII. 
Our  Fathers'  Sepulchres!  farewell!  farewell! 

Thus  too  may  we  find  peaceful,  glorious  rest! 
And  as  our  children  on  our  memories  dwell, 

May  they  too  thrill  with  joy  and  call  us  blest! 


NOTES 


Stanza  VI. — Saddle-Mountain,  lying  in  Williamstown  and  AdamSj  is  the  highest 
mountain  in  Massachusetts,  being  about  2,800  feet  above  the  valley  at  the  college 
and  about  3,580  feet  above  tide  water  at  Albany.  As  seen  at  the  north  from  Pitts- 
field  at  the  distance  of  20  miles,  it  is  an  object  of  great  beauty. 

Stanza  VIII. — The  venerable  Elm,  which  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  public 
square  in  Pittsfield,  is  126  feet  in  height,  and  its  trunk  is  90  feet  ere  the  limbs  branch 
out.  It  was  a  tall  forest  tree,  when  the  town  was  first  settled  nearly  a  hundred  years 
ago,  and  was  spared  while  the  trees  around  it  were  cut  down.  At  that  time  it  could 
hardly  have  been  less  than  100  years  old.    Possibly  its  age  now  may  be  250  years. 

To  the  great  grief  of  the  citizens,  especially  of  those,  who  were  born  beneath  its 
shade,  it  was  struck  by  lightning  some  years  ago  and  a  strip  of  bark  was  torn  off  its 
whole  length.  Some  of  the  branches  also  exhibit  marks  of  decay.  Yet  it  may  live 
for  years  to  come.  An  oak  in  Russian  Poland,  cut  down  in  1812,  was  estimated  to 
have  a  thousand  rings  or  layers,  or  to  be  a  thousand  years  old. 

Stanza  XXXV. — Grcylock  is  the  highest  peak  of  Saddle -Mountain  at  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  county.  Mt.  Washington  is  the  highest  of  the  Taconic  range  of 
mountains ;  it  lies  at  the  south-western  corner  of  the  county,  west  of  SheflSeld,  and  is 
about  2,400  feet  above  the  valley,  and  3,150  above  the  tide  water  of  the  Housatunnuk 
river. 

Stanza  XXXVII. — The  Indian  name  Housatunnukis  written  in  dififerent  ways,— 
Housatonic,  Houssatonnoc,  Housatonuc,  andHooestennuc.  This  last  form  is  preferred 
by  Dr.  Dwight,  who,  in  his  Travels,  says  it  means  over  the  mountain;  but  this  is  proba- 
bly a  mistake,  for  the  Stockbridge  word  for  mountain  is  Wchu,  or  in  the  Mohegan  of 
Eliot's  Bible,  Wadchu,  the  plural  of  which  is  Wadchuask.  This  has  no  resem- 
blance to  Hooestennuc.  Moreover  Hubbard,  in  his  Indian  Wars,  writes  tlie  name 
Ausotunnoog,  which  seems  to  be  the  pural  of  some  animate  word, — the  plural  of 
which  was  formed  by  og,  ug,  or  uk,  as  the  plural  of  inanimate  words  was  formed  by 
ash.  It  is  remarkable,  that  none  of  the  teachers  of  the  Indians  have  in  any  of  their 
writings  given  the  meaning  of  the  word.  As  to  its  form,  it  was  written  Housatun- 
nuk by  Sergeant,  their  first  teacher,  and  by  Mr.  Hopkins  in  his  Historical  Memoirs 
of  the  Housatunnuk  Indians,  published  in  1753. 

Stanza  LXIIT.— The  Pilgrims,  who  commenced  the  settlement  of  New-England 
at  Plymouth  in  1620,  may  be  considered  as  the  representatives  of  all  the  early  settlers 
of  New-England,  and  thus  be  regarded  as  the  fathers  of  all,  who  descended  from  any 
of  the  early  settlers. 

Stanza  LXXVin.— Col.  Ephraim  Williams  commanded  a  regiment  in  the  second 
Fi-ench  War,  and  at  the  head  of  a  scouting  party  of  1200  men  was  killed  by  the  French 
and  Indians  in  an  action  near  Lake  George  Sept.  8,    1755,  aged  41.    Though  his 


90  BKKKSmUE    JtlBILF.K. 

party  r«>treat<-.l  to  the  main  army,  a  memorable  victory  over  the  enemy  was  gained 
on  the  samp  <lay,  the  Haron  Dieskau  beinp  taken  prisoner.  Col.  Williams  gave  a 
liberal  bPfiurst  to  found  a  free  school  in  Williamstown,  which  was  converted  into  a 
college,  bearing  his  name.  Very  recently  the  generous  donation  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars has  been  made  to  this  college  by  Mr.  Amos  Lawrence  of  Boston. 

Col.  Mark  Hopkins  of  Great  Barrington,  the  grandfather  of  President  Hopkins  of 
Williams  College,  was  an  able  lawyer,  who  engaged  earnestly  in  the  defence  of  hi» 
country.    He  died  at  White  Plains,  Oct.  26,  1776,  aged  37. 

Col.  John  Brown,  of  Plttsfield,  a  lawyer,  was  distinguished  in  the  revolutionar>- 
war.  He  was  killed  in  an  ambuscade  of  the  enemy  at  Stone  Arabia  in  Palatine, 
New-York,  Oct.  19,  1780,  aged  36.  Of  his  children  there  survives  only  Mrs.  Huldah 
Butler  of  Northampton,  now  at  an  advanced  period  of  life,  but  who  was  present  at 
the  Jubilee.    His  son  Henry  C.  Broxcn,  who  died  in  183S,  was  Sheriff  of  the  county. 

There  was  yet  another  officer  of  merit,  who  died  during  the  war,  Lieut.  Col.  Tho- 
mas Williams  of  Stockbridge,  the  son  of  Dr.  Williams  of  Deerfield:  he  died  at 
Skanesborough  July  10,  1776,  aged  30  years.  Capt.  Cha-pin  was  killed  at  Williams- 
town  in  the  French  war  July  11,  1756;  and  Rev.  Whitman  Welch  oi  Williamstown, 
a  chaplain,  died  near  Quebec  March  1776,  aged  36. 

Stanza  LXXX. — Some  of  the  conspicuous  soldiers  and  patriots  of  Berkshire,  who 
survived  the  campaigns  in  which  they  served  their  country,  are  the  following : 

Gen.  Joseph  Dwight  of  Great  Barrington,  commanded  the  artillery  at  the  capture  of 
Lewisburg  in  1745;  he  died  June  9,  1765,  aged  62.  He  was  judge  both  of  the  county 
court  and  of  probate.    He  married  the  widow  of  the  Rev.  John  Sergeant. 

Dr.  Timothy  Childs,  a  surgeon  in  the  army,  and  a  distinguished  physician,  died  at 
Pittsfield  Feb.  20,  1821,  aged  73. 

Col.  Joshua  Danjorth,  of  Pittsfield  served  as  an  officer  during  the  revolutionary  war; 
during  his  whole  life  he  was  engaged  in  various  public  offices,  the  duties  of  which 
he  discharged  with  great  fidelity.    He  died  Jan.  30, 1837,  aged  77. 

Gen.  John  Fellows  of  Sheffield  commanded  a  regiment  in  1775.  He  was  sheriff  of 
the  county.    He  died  Aug.  1,  1808,  aged  73. 

Col.  Simon  Lamed,  of  Pittsfield,  was  an  officer  in  the  war  of  the  revolution  and 
sheriff  of  the  county.    He  died  Nov.  16,  1817,  aged  61. 

Gen.  John  Patterson  of  Lenox  commanded  a  regiment  of  minute  men  in  1775,  and 
marched  to  Cambridge  after  the  battle  of  Lexington.  He  assisted  in  the  capture  of 
Burgoyne. 

Col.  Oliver  Root  of  Pittsfield  was  with  Col.  Brown  at  Palatine  in  1780.  He  died 
May  2,  1826,  aged  75. 

Gen.  David  Rossiter  of  Richmond  commanded  a  company  of  minute  men  in  1775. 
He  died  March  8,  1811,  aged  75. 

Col.  Benjamin  Simonds  of  Williamstown  was  a  soldier  in  the  French  war  of  1746. 
He  died  April  11,  1807,  aged  81. 

There  were  also  two  Indian  captains,  Daniel  Nimham  and  Timathy  Yokun,  who  did 
good  service  to  their  country. 

Stanza  LXXXL— The  following  were  some  of  the  judges  in  Berkshire: — 

Theodore  Sedgwick,  L.L.D.  of  Stockbridge,  was  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Massachusetts.  He  had  been  a  distinguished  member  of  congress.  He  died  Jan.  24, 
1813,  aged  66. 

Judge  Daniel  Dewy  of  Williamstown,  was  also  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
was  a  representative  in  the  13th  congress.    He  died  May  26,  1815,  aged  49. 

Judge  John  Bacon  of  Stockbridge  was  the  minister  of  the  old  South  Church  in  Bos. 
ton  from  1771  to  1775.  He  was  afterwards  a  member  of  congress  and  presiding 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.    He  died  Oct.  25,  1820,  aged  82. 

Judge  Nathaniel  Bishop  of  Richmond  was    for  many  years  register  of  probate,  and 


NOTES.  91 

judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  from  1795  to  1811.    He  died  Feb.  1, 1826,  aged  75. 

Judge  William  Walker  of  Lenox  was  many  years  judge  of  probate  and  judge 
of  the  county  court.  In  his  old  age  he  made  great  eflTorls  in  the  cause  of  temperance. 
He  died  a  few  years  ago. 

These  faithful  magistrates  were  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the  writer;  but  there  have 
lived  many  others,  as  judges  i>ictg/if,  Williams,  Woodbridge,  Ashley,  Marsh,  WhUing, 
Skinner,  and  Noble,  who  in  a  history  of  Berkshire  will  not  be  forgotten. 

Stanza  LXXXII. — The  following  is  an  alphabetical  list  of  most  of  the  deceased 
Ministers  of  Berkshire.  It  will  not  be  inferred,  that  all  of  them  died  in  the  towns  of 
which  they  were  once  the  ministers.  An  account  of  the  remarifable  influence  of  reli- 
gious truth  under  their  faithfi;!  preaching,  would  make  an  interesting  volume.  In 
one  instance  eighty  persons,,  at  the  same  time  and  place,  made  a  public  profession  of 
their  belief  in  Jesus  Christ  and  were  received  as  members  of  the  church. 

Caleb  Alexander,  D.D.,  New  Marlborough,  died  1828,  aged  70  or  more. 

Thomas  Allen,  Pittsfield,  died  1810,  aged  67. 

Joseph  Avery,  Tyringham,  died  1811,  aged  70. 

David  Avery,  Windsor,  died  1819,  upwards  of  70, 

Adonijah  Bidwell,  Tyringham,  died  1784,  upwards  of  60. 

Gideon  Bostwick,  Episcopalian,  Great  Barrington,  died  1793,  aged  50. 

Sylvester  Burt,  Great  Barrington,  died  1836,  aged  54. 

Jacob  Catlin,  D.D.,  New  Marlborough,  died  1826,  aged  68. 

Daniel  Collins,  Lanesborough,  died  1822,  aged  83. 

John  Dc  Witt,  D.D.,  Lanesborough,  died  1831,  aged  41. 

Edwin  W.  Dwight,  Richmond,  died  1841,  aged  50. 

Jonathan  Edwards,  Stockbridge,  died  1758,  aged  54. 

Ebenezer  Fitch,  D.D.,  president  of  VVms.  Coll.  died  1833,  aged  76. 

Ralph  W.  Gridley,  Williamstown,  died  1840,  aged  46. 

Edward  D.  Griffin,  D.D.,  president  of  Wms.  Coll.  died  1837,  ag«l  67. 

Theodore  Hinsdale,  Hinsdple,  died  1818,  aged  80. 

Samuel  Hopkins,  D.D.,  Great  Barrington,  died  1803,  aged  83. 

Jonathan  Hubbard,  Sheffield,  died  1765,  aged  61. 

Alvan  Hyde,  D.D.,  Lee,  died  1833,  aged  65. 

Ephraim  Judson,  Sheffield,  died  1813,  aged  76. 

John  Keep,  Sheffield,  died  1785,  aged  35. 

Walter  King,  Williamstown,  died  1815,  aged  57. 

Aaron  Kinne,  Alford,  died  1824,  aged 79. 

John  Leland,  Peru,  died  1826,  upwards  of  70. 

John  Leland,  Baptist,  Cheshire,  died  1841,  aged  85. 

Joseph  L.  Mills,  Becket,  died  1841,  aged  58. 

Zephaniah  S.  Moore,  D.D.,  president  of  Wms.  Coll.  died  1823,  aged  52. 

David  Perry,  Richmond,  died  1817,  aged  71. 

John  Sergeant,  Stockbridge,  died  1749,  died,  38. 

Thomas  Strong,  New  Marlborough,  died  1777,  aged  61. 

Job  Swift,  D.D.,  Richmond,  died  1804,  aged  61. 

Seth  Swift,  Williamstown,  died  1807,  aged  about  55. 

Whitman  Welch,  Williamstown,  died  1776,  aged  36. 

Peter  Werden,  Baptist,  Cheshire,  died  1808,  aged  80. 

Stephen  West,  D.D.,  Stockbridge,  died  1819,  aged  83. 

Elijah  Wheeler,  Great  Barrington,  died  1827,  aged  53. 

Samuel  Whelpley,  West  Stockbridge,  died  1817,  aged  51. 

These  ministers  differed  in  their  philosophical  theories,  or  in  the  metaphysics  of 
theology;  but  they  agreed  in  what  they  regarded  as  the  elementary  and  chief  princi- 
ples of  the  Gospel,  and  in  preaching  them  faithfully.  Several  of  them  were  learned 
and  eminent  writers.    Indeed,  it  is  believed,  that  in  the  little  territory  of  Berkshire 


02  15KHKSI1IRE   JUBILEE. 

of  llif  exlciit  of  .'jO  miles  by  20,  there  have  lived  minislers,  who  have  produced  more 
hooks  on  metaphysical  theology,  than  have  been  produced  by  all  the  other  metaphy- 
sical WTitci-s  of  this  western  continent.  I  have  reference  to  the  writings  of  Dr.  Hop- 
kins, of  the  two  Edwards',  of  Dr.  West  and  Dr.  Griffin,  and  to  three  volumes  by  Rev. 
Henry  P.  Tappan. 

Stanza.  XCIV.— To  jircvent  misapprehension  it  may  be  proper  to  mention,  that 
the  author  preached  his  first  sermon  in  his  Father's  pulpit,  .luly  29,  1804,  more  than 
40  years  ago ;  but,  spending  afterwards  a  few  years  at  Cambriilge  as  an  officer  of  the 
College,  he  was  not  settled  at  Pittsfield  as  the  successor  of  his  Father,  until  Oct.  10, 
1810.  Asking  a  dismission  in  1817,  his  successors  in  the  ministry  have  been  Rev. 
Heman  Humphrey,  D.D.,  subsequently  the  president  of  Amherst  College;  Rev.  Rufua 
VV.  Bailey,  subsequently  the  head  of  a  Seminary  in  South  Carolina;  Rev.  Henry  P. 
Tappan,  subsequently  a  professor  in  the  University  of  New-York;  Rev.  John  W. 
Yeomans,  D.D.,  subsequently  the  president  of  a  College  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania; 
Rev.  H.  N.  Brinsmade,  D.D.,  now  of  Newark,  New-Jersey;  and  Rev.  John  Todd, 
the  present  minister,  all  of  whom  are  living. 

Stanza  XC  VIII. — The  following  Mssioriories  were  natives  or  citizens  of  Berkshire: 

Frederic  Ayer,  to  the  Ojibwas. 

Nathan  Benjamin,  at  Athens,  in  Greece,  1838. 

Josiah  Brewer,  at  Smyrna,  1826. 

J.  C.  Brisham,  South  America. 

Dr.  Elizur  Butler,  Cherokees. 

Daniel  S.  Butrick,  Cherokees. 

Cyrus  Byington,  a  lawyer,  Choctaws. 

Josiah  Hemingway,  Cherokees. 

Harvey  R.  Hitchcock,  Sandwich  Islands. 

Ebenezer  Hotclikin,  Choctaws. 

Benton  Piiley,  Osages. 

David  White,  died  at  Cape  Palmas,  1837. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  eminent  missionaries  to  the  east,  Gordon  Hall,  was 
educated  at  Williams'  College,  and  was  a  preacher  at  Pittsfield  in  1810.  He  embarked 
in  1812  and  died  in  1826, 

Stanza  XCIX. — Sylvester  Lamed,  the  first  minister  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  New  Orleans,  was  the  son  of  Col.  Simon  Lamed  of  Pittsfield.  During  my 
ministry  in  that  town  he  made  a  public  profession  of  his  belief  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
became  a  member  of  the  church  in  1813.  He  died  at  New  Orleans  of  the  j'ellow 
fever  on  his  birth  day,  Aug.  31,  1820,  aged  24  years.  "  His  Life  and  Eloquence,"  by 
R,  R.  Gurley  was  published  in  1844;  nor  in  that  book  is  there  any  exaggeration  of 
his  remarkable  talents,  and  endowments,  and  qualifications  to  do  good  in  the  great 
city  of  the  south.  There  was  a  remarkable  cluster  of  young  men,  the  graduates  of 
Middlebury  College,  who  died  in  early  life; — Rev.  Sylvester  Lamed,  Professor  Solo- 
mon Metcalf  Allen,  Rev.  Levi  Parsons,  Rev.  Pliny  Fisk,  and  Rev.  Joseph  R.  Andrus : 
to  these,  and  to  Professor  Alexander  M.  Fisher,  his  friends,  Rev.  Carlos  Wilcox,  a 
writer  of  great  merit,  who  himself  died  in  1827,  alludes  in  the  following  elegiac 
lines, — regarding  them  as  once  assembled  at  Andover  Theological  Seminary. 

"  Ye  were  a  group  of  stars,  collected  here, 

Some  mildly  glowing,  others  sparkling  bright ; 
Here,  rising  in  a  region  calm  and  clear, 

Ye  shone  awhile  with  intermingled  light ; 

Then,  parting,   each  pursuing  his  own  flight 
O'er  the  wide  hemisphere,  ye  singly  shone  ; 

But,  ere  ye  climbed  to  half  your  promised  height, 
Ye  sunk  again  with  brightening  glory  round  you  thrown  ; 
Each  left  a  brilliant  track,  as  each  expired  alone." 


NOTES.  93 

Stanza  C. — Probably  the  following  is  not  a  complete  list  of  the  Daughters  of  Berk- 
shire, who  have  gone  out  as  missionaries: — 

Anna  Burnham,  to  the  Choctaws,  1822. 

Mrs.  Eunice  G.  Jones,  wife  of  Abner  D.  Jones,  Choctaws. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  M.  Rogers,  wife  of  Eilmund  H.  Rogers,  Sandwich  Islands. 

Emily  Root,  N.  Y.  Indians  at  Seneca. 

Mrs.  Mercy  Whitney,  wife  of  Samuel  Whitney,  Sandwich  Islands. 

Mrs.  Judith  Wisner,  wife  of  Samuel  Wisner,  Cherokees. 

Besides  these.  Miss  Salome  Danforth,  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Joshua  Danforth  of 
Pittsfield,  is  at  the  head  of  a  flourishing  female  Protestant  Boariling  School  in  the 
village  of  Bournabut,  six  miles  from  Smyrna — theonly  school  of  the  kind  in  the  Turk- 
ish empire; — and  the  chiefpatrons  and  supporters  of  this  school,  it  is  believed,  ore 
ladies  of  Pittsfield. 

Last  Note. — In  the  delivery  of  this  Poem  a  few  stanzas  relating  to  the  living 
sons  of  Berkshire  were  introduced,  by  the  advice  of  a  friend,  in  order  to  promote  the 
good  fellowship  of  the  occasion;  but,  after  answering  this  temporary  purpose,  they 
are  properly  omitted  in  this  publication,  as  they  were  not  designed  to  be  a  pari  of 
the  [)oem.  Some  introiluctory  lines  are  also  omitted;  and  some  names,  which  were 
interwoven  in  the  text,  will  be  found  in  the  notes. 


PUBLIC    EXERCISES.  95 


8.  HYMN.     Tune— OW  Hundred. 

(The  whole  Congregation  uniting.) 

Command  thy  blessing  from  above, 
O  God !  on  all  assembled  here ; 

Behold  us  with  a  Father's  love, 
While  we  look  up  with  filial  fear. 

Command  thy  blessing,  Jesus,  Lord  ! 

May  we  thy  true  disciples  be : 
Speak  to  each  heart  the  mighty  word, 

Say  to  the  weakest  "  Follow  me." 

Command  thy  blcssiiig  in  this  hour. 
Spirit  of  Truth !  and  fdl  this  place 

With  humbling  and  exalting  power. 
With  quickening  and  confirming  grace. 

O  thou,  our  Maker,  Savior,  Guide, 
One  true,  eternal  God  confest; 

May  nought  in  life  or  death  divide 

The  friends  in  sweet  communion  blest. 

9.  POEM,  by  Palmer. 


M 


THE   MOTHER. LAND'S   HOME-CALL. 


BY    WILLIAM    PITT    PALMER. 

We  miss  the  swallows'  graceful  wing 

When  autumn  leaves  grow  pale  and  sere, 
But  with  the  first  soft  gale  of  spring 

Her  purple  plumes  again  appear  : 
Green  isles  that  crown  the  southern  main 

Smiled  sweetly  on  their  minstrel  guest; 
Yet  all  their  gorgeous  charms  were  vain, 

To  wean  her  from  her  mountain  nest. 

But  ye  whose  truant  feet  have  coursed 

Afar  o'er  alien  lands  and  seas, 
By  no  imperious  instinct  forced 

To  seek  for  sunnier  skies  than  these — 
Why  turn  ye  not  ?  ah!  wherefore  let 

Strange  scenes  your  charmed  fancies  bind  1 
Ah,  why  for  long,  long  years  forget 

The  homes  and  hearts  ye  left  behind  1 

O  spurn  at  last  ambition's  chain 

Around  your  better  natures  wrought. 
Nor  longer  swell  the  eager  train 

Of  fame  or  fortune's  Juggernaut ! 
Return,  and  boyhood's  faded  spring 

Shall  bloom  round  manhood's  homeward  track; 
And  memory's  refluent  sunshine  fling 

The  shadow  from  life's  dial  back ! 


98  UEKKSlllUK    JLDILEK. 

Tlie  t^rove's  lone  aisles  shall  ring  again 

With  music  of  their  vernal  choirs, 
While  gaily  on  from  glen  to  glen 

The  wild  brooks  sweep  their  silvery  lyres: 
And  love  shall  ply  her  tenderest  art, 

Sweet  home  her  sweetest  aspect  wear. 
That  wearied  mind  and  wounded  heart 

May  find  a  sure  Bethesda  there. 

Come  seek  the  scenes  of  boyish  glee, 

The  haunts  of  youth's  sedater  hours, 
And,  dearer  yet,  the  try  sting-tree 

Still  wreathed  with  love's  immortal  flowers; 
Come  muse  where  oft  in  years  gone  by 

O'er  kindred  dust  ye  bent  the  knee. 
And  feel  twere  almost  sweet  to  die. 

Since  that  green  turf  your  couch  shall  be! 


RESPONSE   OF  THE   HOMECOMERS. 


BY   WILLIAM   PITT    PALMER. 


Hail,  Land  of  Green  Mountains!  whose  valleys  and  streams 
Are  fair  as  the  Muse  ever  pictured  in  dreams; 
Where  the  stranger  oft  sighs  with  emotion  sincere, — 
Ah,  would  that  my  own  native  home  had  been  here! 

Hail,  Land  of  the  lovely,  the  equal,  the  brave, 
Never  trod  by  the  foe,  never  tilled  by  the  slave; 
Where  the  lore  of  the  world  to  the  hamlet  is  brought, 
And  speech  is  as  free  as  the  pinions  of  thought. 

But  blest  as  thou  art,  in  our  youth  we  gave  ear 
To  hope  when  she  whispered  of  prospects  more  dear, 
Where  the  hills  and  the  vales  teem  with  garlands  untold. 
And  the  rainbow  ne'er  flies  with  its  jewels  and  gold. 

Yet  chide  not  too  harshly  thy  truants  grown  gray 

In  the  chase  of  bright  phantoms  that  lured  us  astray; 

For  weary  and  lone  has  our  pilgrimage  been 

From  the  haunts  of  our  chidhood,  the  graves  of  our  kin. 

Nor  deem  that  with  us,  out  of  sight  out  of  mind 
Were  the  homes  and  the  hearts  we  left  saddened  behind: 
As  the  hive  to  the  bee,  as  her  nest  to  the  dove. 
These,  these  have  been  ever  our  centre  of  love. 

Yes,  when  far  away  from  thee,  Land  of  our  birth, 
We  have  mused  mid  the  trophies  and  Tempes  of  earth. 
Our  thoughts,  like  thy  spring-birds  flown  home  oVr  the  sea, 
In  day-dreams  and  night-dreams  have  still  been  with  thee. 

n.  DOXOLOGY. 

12.  BENEDICTION. 


SECOND  DAY. 

FRIDAY,  AUGUST  23d,  10  O'CLOCK,  A.  M. 
1.  SINGING.     Ode—"  TJu  Pilgrim's  ndurnP 


BY  HON.  EZEKIEL  BACON. 


[Written  for  the  occasion] 
I. 

Hark  !  from  our  "  Father-land''  we  hear, 

Its  fond  inviting  voice ; 
"  Haste  to  your  natal  Jubilee, 

And  with  my  sons  rejoice." 

ir. 

We  come,  we  come,  from  distant  climes, 

With  joy  to  greet  the  day, 
And  in  thy  sacred  temples  here 

Once  more  our  vows  to  pay. 

III. 
[We  come  from  Maine's  stern  rock-bound  coast, 

From  homes  upon  the  deep, 
From  where  the  Vine  and  Olive  blooms, 

The  balmy  zephyrs  sleep.] 

IV. 
[Where'er  our  wandering  lin^t  )nny  roam, 

Where'er  our  lot  is  ca.st. 
To  thee,  dear  land,  our  hearts  slill  luni. 

Our  first  love, — and  our  last.  I 


102  BRRKSIIIKE    JUniLEK. 

V. 

[For  on  thy  fair  and  fostering  soil 
Our  cradled  limbs  were  rocked  ; 

To  thee  our  early  years  were  given, 
Our  ripe  affections  locked.] 

VI. 
And  though  the  bosoms  kind  that  nursed 

Our  infancy  may  rest 
Within  their  "  dark  and  narrow  bed," 

In  clay  cold  vestments  drest ; 

VII. 
The  temples  where  we  humbly  knelt 

No  more  may  lift  their  spires  ; 
And  in  the  old  paternal  halls 

May  cease  their  wonted  fires ; 

VIII. 
Yet  long  those  sainted  names  shall  live, 

"  The  memories  of  the  just;" 
The  holy  Fanes  our  feet  have  trod. 

Though  mouldered  long  in  dust. 

IX. 

Still  in  these  pleasant,  peaceful  vales, 
Temples  m.ore  glorious  rise, 

As  through  their  hallowed  portals  pass 
Fresh  Pilgrims  to  the  skies. 

■2.  PRAYER,  by  Rev.  D.  D.  Field,  D  D. 


PUBLIC   EXERCISES.  ^  103 

3.  SINGING.     Song.     Tune— "Come  to  the  Sunset  Tree:' 

BY  A  LADY. 

[Written  for  the  occasion.] 

Come  to  the  old  roof  tree, — 

To  thy  childhood's  happy  home, — 

To  the  hearts  which  beat  for  thee, — 
Beloved  wanderer,  come  ! 

Come  ye  of  the  unbowed  head, — 

Ye  of  the  joyful  breast, — 
Come  where  your  feet  have  sped 

In  childhood's  sweet  unrest. 
Come  to  the  purling  stream. 
Come  to  the  pebbly  shore, 
Come,  for  the  sunny  beam 
Laughs  brightly  as  of  yore. 
Come  to  the  old  roof  tree, 

To  thy  childhood's  happy  home, 
To  hearts  which  beat  for  thee, — 
Beloved  wanderer,  come ! 

We  know  that  on  many  a  heart 

Sorrow  hath  left  its  trace  ; — 
We  know  that  care  hath  robb'd 

The  bloom  from  many  a  face  ; — 
But  come  to  the  father's  door, 

Come  to  the  mother's  love, 
For  here  is  joy  once  more 

Meet  for  the  blest  above. 

Come  to  the  old  roof  tree,  &c. 

N 


104  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

Perchance  the  n^mve  is  ^reen 

Of  those  you  held  most  dear ; 
But  come  where  their  love  hath  been — 

For  their  spirits  linger  near ! 
Come  to  the  sacred  mound, — 

'Twill  raise  the  heart  above 
To  the  better  home  they've  found 

With  the  pure  and  true  above. 
Come  to  the  old  roof  tree,  &c. 

Come,  though  the  gray-hair'd  sire 

Sleep  'neath  the  coffin  lid, — 
Come,  though  the  mother's  grace 
From  thy  longing  gaze  be  hid ; 
•Come  to  the  old  roof  tree 

And  bend  the  knee  in  prayer, 
Thou  shalt  go  forth  more  pure 
For  having  worshiped  there. 
Come  to  the  old  roof  tree, 

To  thy  childhood's  happy  home,- 
To  the  hearts  which  beat  for  thee. 
Beloved  wanderer, — come  ! 

4.  ORATION,  by  Hon.  Joshua  A.  Spencer. 


1 


AN    OEATIOF, 

PRONOUNCED  AT  PITTSFIELD,  AT 

THE   BEEKSHIEE  JUBILEE, 

AUGUST  23,  1844. 


By  JOSHUA  A.  SPENCER. 


OEATION. 


We  have  come  in  answer  to  a  Mother's  call.  The 
dispersed  sons  and  daughters  of  Berkshire  have  return- 
ed to  their  own  hill  country,  and  to  their  early  kindred, 
and  we  have  altogether  come  up  to  our  Jerusalem  to 
worship.  It  is  a  meeting  of  kindred  spirits  which  has 
broken  up  the  deep  fountains  of  our  hearts,  and  they 
are  gushing  forth  in  streams  of  love,  and  joy,  and  gra- 
titude. 

Filled  with  these  emotions,  in  justice  to  my  own  as 
well  as  to  your  feelings,  I  can  address  you  only  as 

Fathers,  Mothers, 
Sisters,  Brothers, 

Friends ;  for  in  these  relations  alone  have  we  been 
welcomed,  and  none  beside  can  feel  our  joys.  Since 
our  return  we  have  seen  the  sun  rise,  and  set  where  it 
rose  and  set  to  the  eyes  of  our  childhood  —  have  looked 
upon  the  green  hills  "  which  we  beheld  in  the  days  of 
our  youth,"  have  visited  the  old  dwellings  ol"  our 
fathers,  looked  into  the  well  and  seen  face  answering 
to  face  in  water,  but  not  to  the  face  of  youth ;  we  have 
drank  from  the  old  moss  grown  bucket,  "  trod  llic  path- 
way to  the  old  pasture,  to  the  orchard,  to  the  mea- 
dow; have  rambled  over  our  old  nutting  and  hunting 


110  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

and  fishing  fi^rounds;  "  Slaked  our  thirst  at  the  same 
perennial  spring  or  gurgling  rill,  and  tasted  the  winter 
green  plucked  from  the  woody  hill  side  —  we  have 
loitered  around  the  old  school  house,  looked  into  it, 
but  saw  not  the  smiling  school-dame,"  nor  our  little 
school  fellows.  We  have  ran  over  the  racing  ground 
of  our  boyhood,  and  bathed  in  the  same  stream.  We 
have  worshiped  in  the  same  "  meeting  house,"  and 
heard  preached  the  Gospel  of  peace.  We  there  met  a 
few  familiar  faces,  many  half  recognized  countenan- 
ces, but  more  who  were  strangers  unto  us.  In  early 
morning,  or  in  the  evening  twilight,  we  have  gone  to 
the  resting  place  of  our  departed  friends,  read  there 
the  inscriptions  on  monuments  erected  in  parental,  fra- 
ternal, and  filial  affection,  listened  to  the  "  small  still 
voice  "  speaking  from  the  grave,  and  our  hearts  held 
sweet,  silent  converse  with  their  blessed  spirits  which 
seemed  hovering  there.  In  all  these  scenes  has  indeed 
been  awakened 

"  The  memory  of  joys  that  are  past, 
Pleasant  and  mournful  to  the  soul." 

Until  this  our  return,  we  did  not  fully  realize  how 
ardently  we  love  "our  own,  our  Native  land,"  and  our 
"  kindred  who  have  remained  here  to  beautify  the  old 
homestead,"  while  we  have  gone  out  to  expend  our 
energies  in  other  portions  of  this  land.  We  have  come 
to  rejoice  with  you  while  *'we  are  gathered  at  the 
hearth  of  our  Mother  to  hold  a  day  of  congratulations 
and  sweet  recollections."  And  with  grateful  hearts 
have  we  found  that  vou  "love  us  none  the  less  be- 


ORATION.  Ill 

cause  we  have  gone  from  you."  And  your  hearts' 
desire  shall  be  satisfied,  for  "  the  home  of  our  child- 
hood does  live  and  will  live  green  in  our  memory."  It 
is  the  joy  and  pride  of  our  hearts  to  feel  and  acknow- 
ledge with  you,  that  "  the  chain  which  binds  us  to 
you  is  more  than  golden,  and  we  too,  would  have  its 
links  grow  stronger  and  brighter."  Let  it  be  extended 
until  it  shall  encircle  the  whole  earth  and  bind  togreth- 
er  our  common  brotherhood. 

How  true  is  it  my  friends,  that  "  the  sons  of  old  Mas- 
sachusetts have  reason  to  revere  and  love  their  native 
soil.  She  is  the  mother  and  nurse  of  a  might}^  people. 
She  does  indeed  hold  on  her  way  with  her  soil  trodden 
by  the  free,  and  the  air  of  her  mountains  still  breathed 
by  a  noble  race  of  men.  Her  hills,  her  vallies  and  her 
limpid  streams  remain  as  they  were,',  but  even  these 
shall  not  endure  as  long  as  shall  the  great  principles 
which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  her  institutions. 

It  is  now  nearly  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  years 
since  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  reached  the  bleak  coast  of 
this  "  new  world,"  and  effected  a  landing  at  the  con- 
secrated "  Rock  of  Plymouth,"  with  a  wide  waste  of 
water  on  the  one  side,  and  a  wilderness  waste  on  the 
other.  The  history  of  their  sacrifices,  their  sufferings 
and  their  achievements  is  familiar  to  us  all.  It  will 
remain  so  to  after  generations  as  long  as  grateful  hearts 
shall  beat  in  American  breasts.  They  came  freighted 
with  riches  more  enduring  than  gold,  more  precious 
than  pearls  —  a  knowledge  of  the  true,  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  religious  and  civil  liberty,  resolved  on  their 


1J2  iil.KKMIIKK    .11    lllLEE. 

maintrnancc  at  every  sacrifice.  These  principles  they 
carefully  planted  in  the  soil  of  their  chosen  home,  wa- 
tered th(^ni  with  their  tears,  and  guarded  them  with 
their  prayers.  They  took  deep  root,  have  had  a  steady 
growth,  and  will,  under  the  protection  of  a  righteous 
God,  continue  to  spread  until  they  cover  the  whole 
earth. 

After  the  memorable  event  just  mentioned,  more 
than  one  hundred  years  elapsed  and  Berkshire  re- 
mained an  unbroken  forest,  peopled  only  by  a  few  red 
men  along  the  banks  of  its  beautiful  Housatonic.  Not 
until  1725,  did  our  bold  hardy  ancestors  effect  a  settle- 
ment within  its  borders.  Sheffield  has  the  honor  of 
affording  an  asylum  to  the  pioneers,  and  of  being  the 
first  incorporated  town.  Among  these  fearless  men 
were  Noble,  Austin,  Ashley,  and  others  whose  names 
will  be  revered  by  their  descendants,  while  the  history 
of  our  country  remains. 

True  to  the  great  principles  of  the  Pilgrims,  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly  in  its  grant  of  two  townships  of  which 
Sheffield  is  a  portion,  directed  its  commissioners  to  re- 
serve lands  for  the  first  settled  minister,  for  the  future 
support  of  the  Gospel,  and  for  the  maintenance  of 
schools.  This  was  no  novel  evidence  of  the  wisdom 
which  distinguished  the  councils  of  the  Colony,  and 
has  since  done  the  Councils  of  the  State ;  and  con- 
ferred such  enduring  benefits  and  blessing  upon  man- 
kind. Religion  and  universal  education  have  always 
occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  deliberations  and 
acts  of  our  time-honored  sires. 


^  ORATION.  113 

Great  Barrington  and  Egremont,  at  that  early  day 
forming  part  of  Sheffield,  were  settled  soon  after.  Here 
have  lived  the  Ingersolls,  the  Hopkins',  the  AVhitings, 
the  Iveses,  and  other  time-honored  names. 

In  the  history  of  Stockbridge,  there  is  much  of  in- 
terest. Here,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the 
white  settlements,  on  the  Housatonic  below,  under  the 
kind  care  of  their  white  fathers,  were  gathered  tlie 
scattered  families  of  the  "River  Indians."  In  1734, 
Mr.  John  Sergeant,  their  first  missionary,  became  their 
spiritual  teacher,  and  Mr.  Timothy  W'oodbridge  their 
schoolmaster.  Efforts  were  early  made  to  enlarge  the 
means  of  instruction  by  the  aid  of  the  manual  labor  of 
the  pupils.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Watts  and  Captain  Coram, 
lent  their  aid  to  raise  funds  in  England,  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  Mr.  Hollis,  and  many  other  distinguished 
men  contributed  to  the  funds  of  the  mission. 

On  the  demise  of  Mr.  Sergeant,  the  renowned  Presi- 
dent Edwards  became  his  successor,  assisted  by  other 
distinguished  men.  It  was  here  he  composed  his 
great  work  on  the  Will. 

Among  the  good  men  connected  witli  tJiis  benevo- 
lent enterprise,  Capt.  John  Koukapot's  name  deserves  a 
place.  He  was  a  native,  as  brave  as  he  was  iiiithful, 
and  as  religious  as  he  was  brave. 

The  immediate  fruits  of  these  labors  of  love,  were 
the  rearing  of  many  educated  men  who  shared  in  the 
ecclesiastical,  the  civil,  and  the  military  concerns  of  the 
times ;  in  the  efficient  aid  of  the  tribe  in  the  Avar  of  the 
Revolution,  and  in  the  securily  afforded  to  the  surround- 

o 


114  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

inp^  white  inhabitants  against  the  hostile  incursions 
of'other  tribes  of'Indians  by  their  presence,  their  known 
fidelity,  watchfulness  and  bravery.  Soon  after  the 
peace  of  1783,  this  tribe  of  Indians  removed  to  a  tract 
of  land  given  them  by  the  Oneida  nation  in  the  State 
of  New- York.  This  they  called  New  Stockbridge. 
Upon  this  fertile  spot  of  six  miles  square,  with  the 
younger  Sergeant  for  their  minister,  they  continued  to 
reside  until  the  year  1822.  AVithmany  of  the  leading 
men  of  this  little  community,  I  became  acquainted  soon 
after  1811 ;  and  it  affords  me  pleasure  to  bear  testimony 
to  their  high  character  for  industry,  sobriety,  intelli- 
gence and  integrity.  Their  example  furnishes  a  beau- 
tiful illustration  of  the  benign  influence  of  civilization 
and  the  Christian  religion  upon  the  red  man  of  the 
forest,  and  high  evidence  of  the  faithfulness  of  those 
good  men  who  were  employed  as  their  instructors. 
The  nation  still  exists  as  a  distinct  community  near 
the  head  of  Green  Bay,  with  most  of  the  Oneidas  for 
their  neighbors,  where  with  faithflilness  under  God's 
blessing,  they  maintain  their  praiseworthy  habits  and 
character. 

The  first  printing  press  established  in  the  County,  in 
1788,  was  at  Stockbridge ;  and  from  it  not  the  "  star 
in  the  East,"  but  the  "Western  Star"  appeared  to 
shed  its  mellow  light  upon  Berkshire's  hills.  Not  long 
after,  issuing  from  a  press  in  Pittsfield,  the  "Sun" 
arose  in  the  firmament  of  this  County,  and  its  rays 
gilded  the  hill  tops,  and  illuminated  the  vallies.  Among 
my  earliest  recollections  is  the  post-rider  bearing  these 


ORATION.  115 

lights  of  the  mind.  Methinks  there  can  now  be  heard 
in  the  distance,  the  sound  of  his  horn  announcing  his 
welcome  approach. 

Here  too,  at  an  early  day,  other  lights  appeared  and 
shone  in  their  brightness,  in  the  sacred  desk,  at  the 
bar,  on  the  judicial  bench,  and  in  the  halls  of  legisla- 
tion. Among  them  a  long  catalogue  of  names  might 
be  enumerated,  but  it  is  unnecessary.  They  live  in 
history,  and  in  the  memory  of  their  descendants.  Of 
these  "many  daughters  have  done  virtuously,  but  one 
excellest  them  all."  She  has  done  honor  to  her  illus- 
trious sire,  to  her  sex,  and  to  our  country.  "  Her 
works  do  follow  her." 

Compared  with  the  rapid  peopling  of  the  great  west, 
the  settlement  of  Berkshire  was  slow.  But  it  was  pro- 
gressive and  onward.  The  same  noble  race  of  men 
which  first  entered  its  borders  with  strong  arms,  reso- 
lute hearts,  and  dauntless  courage,  penetrated  its  deep 
forests  and  laid  them  low.  In  the  vallies  and  on  the 
hill-sides,  the  cleared  fields  and  the  waving  grain  ap- 
peared. While  yet  only  the  log  house  was  their  dwell- 
ing place,  the  meeting  house  and  the  school  house  were 
neither  forgotten  nor  neglected.  The  minister  of  the 
Gospel  was  at  his  labor,  and  the  schoolmaster  was 
abroad  in  the  land.  What  else  than  that  which  we 
have  seen  and  do  now  see,  could  be  the  fruit  of  such  a 
beginning  ? 

The  settlement  of  the  northern  towns  was  conside- 
rably retarded  by  the  frequent  incursions  of  the  Indians 
from  Canada.     These  occasioned  the  building  of  Fort 


]in  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

Massarlui setts  in  Adams,  and  a  smaller  fortification  in 
Williaiiistown  bclbro  the  first  French  war.  Under  the 
protection  of  these  forts,  after  the  close  of  that  war  in 
174H,  and  while  they  were  commanded  by  Col.  Ephraim 
Williams  the  younger,  the  settlement  of  the  northern 
towns  commenced.  In  Lenox  in  1750,  in  Pittsfield  and 
Williamstown  in  1752.  But  as  late  as  1755,  the  set- 
tlers were  compelled  to  flee  before  the  stealthy  foe  and 
take  refuge  in  Stockbridge,  with  the  loss  of  some  of 
their  number.  These  severe  trials  did  not  entirely 
subside  until  several  years  afterward.  The  treaty  of 
peace  between  England  and  France  in  1763,  brought 
them  to  a  close.  Before  this  period  settlements  had 
commenced  in  most  of  the  towns  of  the  County.  Six 
only  however  were  then  incorporated.  From  this 
time  until  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, Eastern  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode 
Island,  gave  up  many  of  their  resolute  sons  and  daugh- 
ters to  people  this  Switzerland,  and  the  wilderness  was 
soon  converted  into  fruitful  fields.  But  peace  did  not 
long  continue.  They  were  however  found  equal  to 
every  exigency.  The  Colonial  difficulties  with  the 
mother  country  had  not  been  unobserved  by  them. 

The  world  has  heard  of  the  fame  of  the  Congress  of 
1776,  and  scarcely  less  known  are  the  memorable  pro- 
ceedings  of  the   Mecklenburgh   convention   of  1775. 

But  earlier  than  either  of  these,  on  the  6th  day 1774, 

a  Congress  of  Deputies  of  the  several  towns  in  this 
county,  convened  at  Stockbridge,  of  which  John  Ashley 
was  chosen  President,    and  Theodore  Sedgwick  was 


ORATION.  117 

appointed  Secretary.  Sixty  members  were  in  atten- 
dance. The  names  and  the  transactions  of  this  band 
of  Patriots  should  be  as  well  known  and  as  familiar  to 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  Berkshire,  as  is  the  declara- 
tion of  our  National  Independence. 

Among  much  other  business  done,  a  covenant  was 
agreed  upon  and  recommended  to  be  signed  by  the 
people  of  the  County,  engaging  with  each  other  "  not 
to  import,  purchase,  or  consume  any  goods,  wares,  or 
manufactures  arriving  in  America  from  Great  Britain, 
until  their  charter  and  constitutional  rights  should  be 
restored. 

"  To  observe  the  most  strict  obedience  to  all  Consti- 
tutional laws  and  authority. 

"  To  promote  peace,  love,  and  unanimity  among 
each  other. 

"  To  take  the  most  prudent  care  for  the  raising  of 
Sheep  and  Flax,  and  the  manufacture  of  clothes  and 
linen,  and  to  withhold  all  dealings  and  transactions 
with  those  persons  who  should  refuse  to  sign  or  ob- 
serve the  covenant." 

And  they  recommended  and  set  apart  Thursday,  the 
14th  July,  for  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  to  implore 
the  divine  assistance  that  he  would  interpose  and  in 
mercy  avert  those  evils  with  which  they  were  threat- 
ened. 

In  after  years  similar  conventions  were  held,  in 
which  the  condition  of  the  County  and  the  country 
were  considered,  and  measures  for  promoting  the  ge- 
neral welfare  recommended. 


1  IS  DERKSIIIRE  JUBILEE. 

That  which  shows  as  well  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
County  after  the  close  of  the  French  war,  as  the  rea- 
diness of  the  people  for  determined  action,  is  the 
raising  of  two  regiments  of  ''  minute  men  "  in  this 
same  year ;  the  one  commanded  by  Col.  John  Patter- 
son of  Lenox,  and  the  other  by  Col.  John  Fellows  of 
Sheffield.  These  men  were  not  misnamed.  On  the 
18th  April,  1775,  the  battle  of  Lexington  was  fought! 
news  of  it  reached  Berkshire,  (not  by  the  rail-road,) 
on  the  20th,  at  noon.  At  sunrise  the  next  morning, 
Col.  Patterson's  regiment,  completely  equipped  and 
uniformed,  were  on  the  march  to  Boston.  Fired  by 
the  same  spirit.  Col.  Fellows'  regiment  with  equal 
promptitude  and  appointment,  proceeded  to  Boxbury. 
Many  of  these  brave  men  remained  in  the  service  to 
the  close  of  the  war.  Nor  did  Berkshire  at  any  other 
time,  nor  in  any  emergency  during  the  fearful  struggle 
falter  in  her  duty.  As  she  then  shared  in  the  sacrifi- 
ces made  upon  her  country's  altar,  so  does  she  now  in 
the  glory  of  her  achievement. 

At  length,  as  is  well  known,  peace  came.  But  1783 
witnessed  no  sudden  recovery  of  prosperity.  After  a 
few  years  of  manly  struggle  to  bring  plenty  out  of  de- 
stitution, the  people  of  this  County,  in  common  with 
those  of  the  State,  were  put  to  a  new  trial  of  their  pa- 
triotism. In  1786  domestic  insurrection  raised  its 
fiendish  form,  sundering  the  ties  of  kindred  and  friends, 
and  threatening  anarchy  throughout  the  entire  State. 
But  here  again  were  our  fathers  found  equal  to  the 
emergency.     Prompt  and   energetic  action  soon  dis- 


ORATIOIf .  y  9 

persed  and  put  to  flight  the  insurgents,  but  not  with- 
out the  loss  of  life  in  the  principal  battle,  which  was 
fought  at  Sheffield,  on  the  27th  Feb.,  1787.  Quiet 
was  soon  after  restored,  but  the  evils  inflicted  were  not 
so  speedily  cured.  Asperity  and  division  in  families. 
Churches,  and  Society,  occasioned  by  this  outbreak, 
required  years  to  wear  away.  Of  the  insurgents,  four- 
teen were  tried  for  treason,  convicted,  and  sentenced 
to  death.  But  to  the  honor  of  our  Country,  history 
will  record  that  even  in  the  infancy  of  our  institutions 
as  well  as  in  their  manhood,  no  life  has  been  taken  by 
the  hangman  for  political  offences. 

But  let  us  turn  from  this  painful  incident  in  Berk- 
shire's history,  to  the  pleasant  contemplation  of  anoth- 
er, which  speaks  peace  and  good  will  to  men.  Its 
record  is  among  the  brightest  pages  of  her  history, 
and  its  gentle  influences  are  felt  not  only  here,  but  in 
every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

Col.  Ephraim  Williams,  to  whose  name,  allusion  has 
already  been  made,  as  is  well  known  was  the  founder 
of  the  seat  of  sound  learning  in  this  County.  He  fell 
in  the  service  of  his  country  as  the  commander  of  a 
regiment,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1755,  near  the 
shores  of  Lake  George,  when  only  forty-one  years  old. 
For  several  years  he  had  followed  the  ocean,  niid  had 
made  many  voyages  to  Europe,  but  had  relinquislied 
this  pursuit  prior  to  the  first  French  war  in  1744.  In 
this  war  he  was  greatly  distinguished  for  his  bravery 
as  the  captain  of  a  company  in  the  army  of  New  Eng- 
land for  the  Canadian  service.     Soon  after  its  close 


1^^  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

he  was  apfu^intcd  to  the  coiniuand  of  the  line  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Forts  on  the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut 
river,  and  made  his  head-quarters  principally  at  Fort 
Massachusetts.  In  its  vicinity  he  was  the  owner  of 
considerable  tracts  of  land,  and  witnessed  the  com- 
mencement of  their  settlement.  The  strong  afiections 
of  his  generous  heart  were  drawn  out  towards  the  fel- 
lers of  the  forest,  for  he  saw  and  felt  their  dangers, 
their  privations,  their  hardships,  and  their  sufferings. 
He  resolved  to  be  their  benefactor,  and  he  became  the 
benefactor  of  mankind.  On  his  march  to  the  northern 
frontier,  on  the  22nd  July,  1755,  a  few  days  before  his 
death,  he  made  his  will.  By  this,  after  bequests  to  his 
kindred,  he  directed  "  that  the  remainder  of  his  land 
should  be  sold  at  the  discretion  of  his  executors  with- 
in five  years  after  an  established  peace ;  and  that  the 
interest  of  the  monies  arising  from  the  sale,  and  the 
interest  of  his  notes  and  bonds  should  be  applied  to 
the  support  of  a  free  school  in  a  township  west  of 
Fort  Massachusetts  forever,  provided  the  township 
when  incorporated  should  be  called  AVilliamstown." 

This  trust  has  been  most  faithfully  executed;  for 
notwithstanding  the  almost  uninterrupted  continuance 
of  war  from  the  lamented  death  of  this  good  man,  un- 
til the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle  in  1783,  we 
find  these  trustees  as  early  as  1785,  making  applica- 
tion to  the  Legislature,  for  a  law  to  enable  them  more 
fully  and  beneficially  to  carry  into  effect  the  high  pur- 
poses of  their  appointment.  An  act  incorporating  a 
free  school  was   passed,  and  nine   trustees  Avere  ap- 


ORATION.  121 

pointed.  A  lottery  for  its  aid  was  granted,  which  re- 
alized $3,500.  The  inhabitants  subscribed  $2,000 
more,  and  in  1790  an  edifice  was  erected.  The  next 
year  a  school  was  opened  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Ebe- 
nezer  Fitch. 

The  people  of  Williamstown,  influenced  by  a  most 
commendable  desire  fully  to  carry  out  the  object  of 
the  founder,  in  1793  petitioned  the  legislature  to  erect 
the  free  school  into  a  college.  The  prayer  was  grant- 
ed, accompanied  with  a  farther  endowment  of  $4,000. 
Thus  was  brought  into  existence  within  ten  years  after 
the  close  of  a  long  desolating  war,  this  favorite  seat  of 
learning  of  which  Berkshire  may  be  justly  proud  without 
reproach.  Its  onward  course  for  fifty  years,  is  a  name 
and  a  praise  in  the  whole  earth.  The  light  of  its 
thousand  educated  men  has  not  been  hid  Their' s 
and  our  country's  history  will  be  written  together. 

In  1807,  Samuel  J.  Mills,  Gordon  Hall,  and  James 
Richards,  were  pupils  there.  Often  in  lonely  retire- 
ment on  the  banks  of  the  Hoosac  River,  their  young 
hearts  communed  together,  and  their  united  prayers 
for  the  heathen  ascended  to  the  throne  of  grace.  They 
were  heard  and  answered. 

In  1808,  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  college,  a  society 
was  formed  by  them  and  a  few  other  kindred  spirits, 
for  sending  a  mission  to  the  heathen.  For  its  com- 
mencement they  wrestled  until  1810,  when  on  the 
27th  June  of  that  year,  Adoniram  Judson,  Samuel 
Nott,  Jr.,  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  Samuel  Newell,  submit- 
ted their  views  to  the  general  Association  of  Massa- 

p 


122  BEIIKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

chusetts,  and  sought  the  advice  and  counsel  of  the  fa- 
thers of  the  church.  Immediately  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  was  organized 
by  that  body  of  men,  and  commenced  its  great  work. 
The  hearts  of  these  young  men  were  already  prepared 
to  obey  their  Master's  command —  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  They 
went,  and  with  what  zeal,  fidelity  and  success  they 
fulfilled  their  mission,  need  not  here  be  told.  They 
are  written  in  the  history  of  the  church.  The  broad 
stream  of  benevolence  which  here  commenced  its 
steady  flow,  has  already  borne  its  life-imparting  influ- 
ence to  the  islands  of  the  sea,  and  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth.  The  heathen  are  made  glad  in  its 
coming,  and  clap  their  hands  for  joy.  But  who  can  tell 
what  will  assuredly  be  done  through  this  instrumen- 
tality? That  is  reserved  for  the  unfoldings  of  eter- 
nity. 

May  not  Berkshire  too,  well  rejoice  in  the  prosperity 
of  her  Metropolitan  village  ?     Not  the  first  to  begin, 
but  the  first  in  the  course  of  all  the  lovely  places  of 
business  activity  and  quiet  retirement  within  her  bor- 
ders.    Pittsfield's  long  well  shaded  streets,  her  deeply 
embowered  dwellings  with  their   spacious  pleasure 
grounds,  wear  the  distinctive  and  charming  livery  of 
New  England  village  scenery.     Here  is  the  home  of 
comfort,  refinement,  and,  as  we  well  know,  of  hospita- 
lity.    In  the  midst  of  the  enchantment,  her  far  famed 
elm  lifts  its  lofty  branches  to  meet  the  sun  in  his  com- 
ing. 


ORATION.  123 

"  Wise  with  the  lore  of  centuries 
What  tales,  if  there  were  tongues  in  trees, 
That  giant  elm  could  tell." 

With  what  pleasure  would  we  listen  in  silence  to  its 
teaching  ?     We  might  perhaps  inquire,  how  long  ago 
its  young  geim  peered  above  the  surface  ?     At  what 
early  day  the  birds  nested  and  caroled  in  its  branches  ? 
When  the  red  man  first  rested  at  its  foot  ?     In  what 
year  it  lifted  its  head  above   its  surrounding  fellows 
and  became  their  king  ?     How  these  one  by  one  at 
long  intervals,  or  in  quick  succession  fall  ?     How  ma- 
ny "  winter's  winds  have  whistled  through  its  branch- 
es," since  it  became  the  forest  king  ?     What  was  done 
amidst    these   hills    before    the   light   of  civilization 
dawned  upon  them?     But  'tis  dumb  —  it  will  not  an- 
swer ;  and  we  will  console  ourselves  with  the  reflec- 
tion that  we  are  not  the  first  of  our  race  whose  ques- 
tions have  failed  of  solution. 

With  pleasure  too,  have  our  eyes  seen  that  of  which 
we  had  before  heard  —  these  seats  of  science  and  learn- 
ing. Let  the  knowledge  of  this  Medical  Institution  go 
forth  with  healing  in  its  wings.  Let  all  live  and  flour- 
ish. Let  their  usefulness  be  commensurate  with  their 
fame. 

But  that  which  has  greatly  rejoiced  the  hearts  of 
Berkshire's  guests  is,  that  wc  have  everywhere  wit- 
nessed surprising  improvements  in  all  the  departments 
of  life.  "  Her  hills,  her  vallies  and  her  limped  streams 
do  in  truth  remain  as  they  were ;  but  the  former  are 
greatly  beautified  by  the  hand  of  man,  and  the  latter 


124  HERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

pressed  into  his  service,  and  made  the  source  of  increas- 
ing wealth."  And  her  people  ever  true  to  their  inter- 
ests, will  still  farther  press  them  into  their  service,  and 
draw  still  greater  wealth  from  the  same  unfailing 
source. 

Berkshire  may  justly  claim  the  honor  of  having 
formed  and  established  the  first  Agricultural  Society  in 
our  country.  This  was  incorporated  in  1811,  under 
the  active  and  influential  agency  of  the  Hon.  Elkanah 
Watson,  then  a  resident  of  the  County.  It  has  ever 
since  held  its  annual  fair  at  Pittsfield,  in  the  month 
of  October  in  each  year,  and  has  exerted  a  powerful 
and  highly  beneficial  influence  upon  the  great  and 
diversified  agricultural  interests  of  the  County  not  only, 
but  of  our  country  at  large.  Its  legitimate  fruits  are 
strong  and  abiding  friendship  and  good  feeling  among 
the  people :  the  better  cultivation  of  the  soil,  the  beau- 
tifying of  the  farms,  the  great  improvement  of  all 
kinds  of  domestic  animals,  and  of  household  manufac- 
tures, and  the  vast  increase  of  production ;  the  well 
deserved  reward  of  ingenuity  and  industry. 

These  few  leading  incidents  in  the  settlement,  his- 
tory, and  present  condition  of  Berkshire,  have  been 
brought  before  our  minds  on  the  present  occasion  only 
by  way  of  remembrance,  that  we  may  contemplate  in 
broad  contrast  the  privations  and  sufferings  of  its  early 
settlers,  and  the  benefits  and  blessings  everyAvhere 
enjoyed  by  their  descendants ;  so  that  thankfulness 
and  gratitude  may  fill  our  hearts. 

Nor  has  Berkshire,  in  common  with  all  New  Eng- 


ORATION.  125 

land,  been  wanting  in  expansive  benevolence.  She 
has  not  Avithheld  her  offspring  from  going  forth  to  peo- 
ple other  portions  of  our  country,  carrying  with  them 
the  principles  and  habits  of  their  Fathers.  In  every 
State  of  the  Union,  and  in  almost  every  hamlet,  thev 
and  their  descendants  are  now  found  and  known ;  and 
wherever  they  are,  their  impress  is  seen  and  felt. 

We  live  in  an  eventful  age.  Since  the  commence- 
ment of  our  National  existence,  we  have  witnessed 
greater  advancement  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  llian 
had  been  beheld  in  centuries  before.  The  application 
of  steam  to  the  purposes  of  navigation,  to  locomotion, 
to  every  department  of  Mechanics,  forms  an  epoch 
more  marked  than  any  other  since  our  Savior's  advent. 

The  middle  ages  of  the  world  are  distinguished  by 
the  discovery  of  the  Magnetic  Needle,  enabling  distant 
nations  to  hold  easy  intercourse  with  each  other,  and 
converting  the  wide  ocean  which  before  lay  waste, 
into  a  great  highway ;  on  which  nautical  science  has 
drawn  every  line,  and  marked  every  point.  And  by 
the  invention  of  printing,  which  freighted  tJieir  ships 
with  the  combined  knowledge  of  the  world,  making 
it  the  common  property  of  all.  But  who  can  recount 
the  increased  power  for  doing  good  which  steam  has 
imparted  to  this  invention  and  to  this  discovery  ? 
The  power  press  —  the  steam  ship  —  the  rail-road  car. 
From  the  one,  as  from  the  sun  in  the  firmament,  the 
light  of  intellectual  man  is  radiated,  and  by  the  oth- 
ers, almost  with  the  celerity  of  light,  it  is  borne  across 
ocean  and  continent. 


126  BERKSHIRE    JUUILEE. 

All  these  means  for  advancing  National  greatness 
and  individual  prosperity  and  happiness,  are  by  the 
providence  of  God,  placed  in  our  young  and  vigorous 
hands.  With  them  we  are  to  demonstrate  the  great 
problem  "  that  man  is  capable  of  self  government," — 
that  the  American  people,  w^ithout  kings  or  nobles,  can 
at  the  same  time  be  rulers,  and  ruled  according  to  their 
own  will,  without  change  of  dynasty,  and  without 
decay.  How  this  can  best  be  done,  concerns  us  and 
our  children. 

Our  government,  unlike  any  other,  commenced  its 
existence  with  all  its  proportions  fully  developed. 
The  wisdom  of  mature  manhood  laid  its  foundations 
deep  and  strong,  built  thereon  the  superstructure,  and 
put  all  its  parts  in  harmonious  movement.  The  great 
builders  have  gone  to  their  reward,  and  we  have  suc- 
ceeded to  the  inheritance.  Our's  is  the  humbler, 
though  little  less  responsible  duty  of  its  preservation, 
with  such  improvements  as  experience  shall  suggest, 
and  to  transmit  it  to  our  children  not  only  unimpaired, 
but  strengthened  and  improved. 

How  better,  indeed  how  else  can  this  high  duty  be 
discharged  than  by  a  careful  study  of  the  elements  of 
New  England  character,  and  by  the  maintenance  and 
preservation  of  their  combined  whole  in  all  its  symme- 
trical proportions  ? 

Here  with  the  light  of  History  is  found  the  distin- 
guishing difterence  between  ours  and  all  the  free  gov- 
ernments of  antiquity,  and  the  reason  why  they  are 
long  since  only  known  in  History,  or  by  their  ruins, 


ORATION.  127 

and  why  we  may  indulge  the  hope,  yea  the  confident 
expectation,  that  our's  shall  endure  while  time  endures. 

Their  people  were  pagans,  idolators,  their  temples 
and  their  gods  were  alike,  of  their  own  creation.  We 
are  Christians,  and  worship  the  uncreated,  the  living 
and  true  God.  They  and  their  temples  and  their 
deities  have  come  to  nothing.  Our  God  ever  lives  and 
reigns.  Their  religion  was  a  Mythology  built  upon 
the  sand.  Our's  is  the  religion  of  the  Bible,  built  upon 
the  Rock  of  Ages.  It  endures  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting.  i 

Let  then  the  Bible  be  our  study  as  it  was  that  of 
our  Fathers.  Let  its  light  shine,  not  of  its  burnino- 
leaves,  but  of  the  principles  which  dwell  in  it.  Let  it 
be  to  us  and  to  our  chidren  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day 
and  of  fire  by  night,  to  lead  us  not  to  our  promised 
land,  but  in  our  land  already  possessed. 

Without  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  all  will  agree 
that  there  can  be  no  religious  liberty.  It  seems  to  me 
almost  equally  clear  that  without  religious  liberty, 
civil  liberty  cannot  exist.  Hence  it  is  plain  that  the 
study  of  the  Bible  is  alike  indispensable  to  the  civilian, 
to  the  statesman,  and  to  the  teacher  of  religion.  AV'here 
else  with  equal  success,  can  be  learned  the  absolute 
and  relative  rights  and  duties  of  men  or  of  govern- 
ments ?  Where  is  it  recorded  on  the  pages  of  History, 
that  tyrants  have  ever  effectually  conquered  and  sub- 
jugated a  people  whose  liberties  and  virtue  were  found- 
ed on  the  word  of  God?  His  government  over  his 
intelligent  creatures  is  instituted   in  infinite  benevo- 


I  28  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

lence  for  their  benefit.     8uch  too  should  be  the  great 
end  and  aim  of  all  civil  governments  and  laws. 

Civil  liberty  does  not  depend  so  much  on  the  remo- 
val of  all  restraint  from  men,  as  in  the  due  restraint  of 
the  natural  liberty  of  all.  It  deals  with  men  as  social 
beings,  and  teaches  them  hoAV  to  enjoy  their  own, 
without  infringing  upon  another's  rights.  How  much 
they  are  to  surrender  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  en- 
joyment of  the  residue.  It  teaches  obedience  to  the 
law,  and  promises  protection  and  security  in  the  en- 
joyment of  life,  liberty  and  property. 

There  can  be  no  free  government  which  is  not 
founded  on  the  great  principle,  that  all  that  is  valuable 
in  civil  institutions,  rests  on  the  intelligence  and  virtue 
of  the  people.  This  acknowledges  the  right,  and  en- 
joins the  duty  of  the  people  to  understand  their  public 
interests,  and  to  adopt  such  means  in  conformity  to 
law,  as  in  their  judgment  will  best  promote  them. 

These  responsible  duties  can  never  be  well  dis- 
charged, nor  these  great  rights  secured,  without  regard 
to  another  element  of  the  New  England  character  — 

That  of  universal  education.  Next  to  religion,  this 
subject  lies  nearest  the  heart  of  every  New  Englander. 
It  is  so  interwoven  with  his  very  nature,  that  it  is  car- 
ried with  him  wherever  he  goes,  and  its  benefits  and 
blessings  are  inherited  by  his  children. 

Your  school  houses,  your  academies,  and  your  col- 
leges, and  the  means  for  their  support  furnished  by 
private  munificence  and  public  law,  bear  ample  testi- 
mony that  New  England  holds  on  her  course  with  firm 


ORATION.  129 

step  and  onward  advance.  Will  she  not  feel  her 
obligation  always  to  provide  a  great  fountain  of  reli- 
gion and  knowledge,  from  which  fresh  supplies  may- 
be drawn  and  borne  by  her  sons  and  daughters  who 
are  yet  to  go  forth  to  people  the  mighty  west,  with 
which  to  infuse  new  life  and  energy  into  those  who 
have  gone  before  ?  While  this  obligation  is  fulfilled, 
New  England  may  look  abroad  in  our  land,  and  with 
sincere  pleasure  and  thankful  heart,  contemplate  tlie 
influence  she  has  exerted,  and  will  through  all  coming 
time  exert  upon  the  destiny  of  our  country.  No  bounds 
have  been  set  to  the  amount  of  good  which  can  and 
will  be  done  by  the  harmonious  working  of  her  prin- 
ciples, her  habits,  and  her  ingenuity. 

Compared  v/ith  the  life  of  other  nations,  our  sun  has 
not  yet  risen :  its  light  is  now  only  seen  gilding  the 
eastern  horizon.  It  may  not  rise  in  our  day.  At  the 
close  of  how  many  centuries  it  will  reach  its  meridian 
height,  and  what  will  be  the  condition  of  our  country 
then,  is  not  given  to  us  to  know.  But  reasoning  from 
the  past  to  the  future,  and  keeping  in  mind  the  accele- 
rated momentum  imparted  by  modern  improvements, 
the  conviction  is  forced  upon  the  mind,  that  come 
when  it  Avill,  it  will  be  far  above  and  beyond  the  lofti- 
est imaginings  of  the  most  comprehensive  intellect. 

These  views  have  not  been  taken  to  pamper  indi- 
vidual vanity  or  national  pride,  but  to  impress  more 
deeply  upon  our  minds  the  solemn  responsibilities 
which  rest  upon  each  of  us  as  sons  and  daughters  of 
the  Pilgrims  —  as  American  citizens  —  aiui  to  stinui- 

Q 


130  RF.IIKSIIIIIE   JUBILEE. 

late  us  to  renewed  exertions  to  meet  them  with  manly 
firmness. 

It  is  obvious  to  the  most  superficial  observer  that 
physical  and  intellectual  man  in  their  career,  have  in 
this  our  day  far  outran  religious  man.  Indeed  so 
mighty,  so  diversified,  so  wonderful  have  been  their 
achievements,  that  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  self  de- 
pendence is  fast  taking  the  place  of  dependence  on 
God  for  all  that  we  are  and  all  we  desire.  Neither 
head  wind,  nor  the  tide,  nor  the  strong  current  of  our 
mighty  rivers,  any  longer  impede  their  navigation,  and 
the  broad  Atlantic  has  become  as  a  ferry. 

With  equal  facility,  and  with  still  greater  celerity, 
do  we  ascend  the  hills  and  the  mountains,  and  glide 
across  the  plains,  making  our  whole  country  as  one 
neighborhood,  and  bringing  our  distant  friends  almost 
within  our  call. 

With  these  developements  of  physical  and  intellect- 
ual power  our  people  are  absorbed,  and  have  become 
impatient  of  restraint.  For  real  or  supposed  defects 
in  our  laws  or  systems  of  government,  they  have  not 
waited  for  the  application  of  constitutional  remedies, 
but  nullification  and  violence  have  too  often  taken  their 
place.  Here  lies  our  danger,  and  for  the  remedy,  let 
the  religious  man  be  aroused  to  his  duty,  and  send 
forth  deeper  and  broader  streams  of  the  Bible's  soft- 
ening, peaceful  influences.  Let  the  religion,  and  the 
example  of  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  take  a  stronger  hold  on 
the  hearts  of  men,  and  constantly  remind  them  that 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  our  country,  and  respect  for 


ORATION.  131 

the  civil  magistrate,  are  among  the  first  and  highest 
duties  of  every  citizen. 

Where,  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  if  not  in 
New  England,  in  the  "  Old  Bay  State,"  in  our  own 
dear  "  Berkshire,"  amidst  these  hills,  peopled  as  they 
are  by  a  homogeneous  race  of  men,  can  the  great 
principles  on  which  the  stability  and  perpetuity  of  our 
government  rest,  be  at  the  same  time  garnered  up  and 
diffused  through  our  land  ?  This  is  an  employment 
where  the  mind  and  the  heart  may  labor  together  in 
concord  with  full  assurance  of  their  reward.  Thoucrh 
the  profane  may  rave,  the  sceptic  sneer,  and  the  infidel 
scoff,  the  countenance  of  the  believer  shall  not  blanch, 
nor  his  step  falter,  nor  his  course  be  turned  aside. 
Steadily,  peacefully,  and  onward,  shall  be  his  way, 
drawing  all  men  unto  it. 

Not  to  detain  my  indulgent  auditors  longer  from 
the  enjoyment  of  the  other  appointments  of  the  day, 
where  a  richer  "  feast  of  reason  and  flow  of  soul " 
await  us,  allow  me  to  inquire,  when  will  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  Berkshire  hold  another  "Jubilee?" 
Never  certainly  another  first  Jubilee ;  that  pleasure  is 
vouchsafed  unto  us,  but  another  Jubilee  ?  Wiicthor  it 
shall  be  in  our  day,  or  be  reserved  for  our  children,  or 
children's  children  we  know  not;  but  come  when  it 
will,  we  do  know  they  will  find  a  hearty  welcome. 
These  beautiful  hills  by  which  we  are  surrounded, 
shall  not  be  more  enduring,  than  shall  be  the  love  their 
people  bear  for  their  absent  kindred. 

In  conclusion,  my  friends,  let  us  olfer  (Mir  united 


132  BEUKSHIKE    JUBILEE. 

thanks  inilo  God,  that  our  birthplace  was  in  the  midst 
of  these  liills  —  our  existence  in  this  eventful  age  of 
the  world,  and  this  free  country  our  home.  Long,  long, 
forever  may  it  be  the  home  of  the  free  and  send  forth 
the  true  spirit  of  intelligent,  civil,  and  religious  liberty 
to  other  lands  and  other  countries,  and  be  a  name  and 
a  praise  in  the  whole  earth. 


ODE. 

WRITTEN    FOR    THE    BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE, 


BY    MRS.    F.    K.    BUTLER. 


-5 


Darkness  upon  the  mountain  and  the  vale. 
The  woods,  the  lakes,  the  fields,  are  buried  deep, 
In  the  still  silent  solemn  star-watched  sleep. 

No  sound,  no  motion,  and  o'er  hill  and  dale 
A  calm  and  lovely  death  seems  to  embrace 
Earth's  fairest  realms,  and  Heaven's  unfathomed  space. 

The  forest  slumbers,  leaf  and  branch  and  bough. 
High  feathery  crest,  and  lowliest  grassy  blade  ; 

All  restless,  wandering  wings,  are  folded  now, 
That  swept  the  sky,  and  in  the  sunshine  play'd. 

The  lake's  wild  waves  sleep  in  their  rocky  bowl. 

Unbroken  stillness  streams  from  nature's  soul, 

And  night's  great,  star-sown  wings,  stretch  o'er  the  whole. 

In  the  deep  trance  of  the  hush'd  universe, 
The  dark  death  mystery  doth  man  rehearse. 
Now,  for  a  while,  cease  the  swift  thoughts  to  run 
From  task  to  taskj  tir'd  labor  overdone 
With  lighter  toil  than  that  of  brain,  or  heart, 
In  the  sweet  pause  of  outward  life  takes  part: 
And  hope,  and  fear,  desire,  love,  joy,  and  sorrow, 
Wait  'neath  sleep's  downy  wings,  the  coming  morrow. 
Peace  on  the  earth,  profoundest  peace  in  Heaven, 
Praises  the  God  of  peace  by  whom  'tis  given. 


134  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

But  hark!  the  woody  depths  of  green 

Begin  to  stir. 
Light  breaths  of  life  creep  fresh  between 

Oakj  beech  J  and  fir: 
Faint  rustling  sounds  of  trembling  leaves 

Whisper  around, 
The  world  at  waking,  slowly  heaves, 

A  sigh  profound  J 
And  showers  of  tears,  night-gathered  in  her  eyes. 
Fall  from  fair  nature's  face,  as  she  doth  rise. 

A  ripple  roughens  on  the  lake, 

The  silver  lilies  shivering  wake, 

The  leaden  waves  lift  themselves  up,  and  break. 

Along  the  laurell'd  shore; 
And  woods  and  waters,  answering  each  other,  make 

Silence  no  more. 

And  lo!  the  east  turns  pale! 
Night's  dusky  veil 

Thinner  and  thinner  grows; 
Till  the  bright  morning  star, 
From  hill  to  hill  afar, 

His  fire  glance  throws. 
Gold  streaks  run  thro'  the  sky, 
Higher  and  yet  more  high 

The  glory  streams; 
Flushes  of  rosy  hue 
Long  lines  of  palest  blue, 

And  amber  gleams. 

From  the  black  vallies  rise 
The  silver  mists,  like  spray. 
Catch,  and  give  back  the  ray, 

With  thousand  dyes. 
Light  floods  the  Heavens,  light  pours  upon  the  earth, 
In  glorious  light,  the  glorious  day  takes  birth. 


ODE,  135 

Hail  to  this  day!  that  brings  ye  home 

Ye  distant  wanderers  from  the  mountain  land, 
Hail  to  this  hour!  that  bids  ye  come 

Again  upon  your  native  hills  to  stand. 
Hail,  hail !  from  rocky  peak, 

And  wood  embowered  dale, 
A  thousand  loving  voices  speak. 

Hail!  home-turn'd  pilgrims  hail! 
Oh,  welcome  !  from  the  meadow  and  the  hill 

Glad  greetings  rise, 
From  flowing  river,  and  from  bounding  rill. 
Bright  level  lake,  and  dark  green  wood  depths  still, 
And  the  sharp  thunder-splinter'd  crag,  that  strikes 
Its  rocky  spikes 
Into  the  skies. 

Grey-Lock,  cloud  girdled,  from  his  purple  throne, 

A  voice  of  welcome  sends, 
And  from  green  sunny  fields,  a  warbling  tone 

The  Housatonic  blends. 

Welcome  ye  absent  long,  and  distant  far! 

Who  from  the  roof-tree  of  your  childhood  turn'd, 
Have  waged  mid  strangers,  life's  relentless  war. 

While  at  your  hearts,  the  ancient  home-love  burn'd. 

Ye,  that  have  plough'd  the  barren  briny  foam. 

Reaping  hard  fortunes  from  the  stormy  sea, 
The  golden  grain  fields  rippling  round  your  home. 

Roll  their  rich  billows  from  all  tempests  free. 

Ye,  from  those  western,  deadly  blooming  fields, 

Where  Pestilence  in  Plenty's  bosom  lies. 
The  hardy  rock-soil  of  your  mountains  yields 

Health's  rosy  blossoms  to  these  purer  skies. 


i;j(i  UEllKSIIIUE   JUBILEE. 

And  ye  who  on  the  accursed  southern  plain, 

Barren,  not  fruitful,  with  the  sweat  of  slaves 
Have  drawn  awhile  the  tainted  air  in  vain, 

'Mid  human  forms  their  spirits'  living  graves. 
Here,  fall  the  fetters,  by  his  cottage  door, 

Lord  of  the  lordliest  life  each  peasant  stands, 
Lifting  to  God,  as  did  his  sires  of  yore, 

A  heart  of  love  and  free  laborious  hands.* 

On  each  bald  granite  brow,  and  forest  crest. 

Each  stony  hill  path,  and  each  lake's  smooth  shore, 

Blessings  of  noble  exil'd  patriots  rest, 
Liberty's  altars  are  they  evermore. 

And  on  this  air,  there  lingers  yet  the  tone. 
Of  those  last  sacred  words  to  freedom  given. 

The  mightiest  utterance  of  that  sainted  one. 

Whose  spirit  from  these  mountains  soar'd  to  Heaven. 

Ye  that  have  prosper'd  bearing  hence  with  ye. 

The  virtues  that  command  prosperity; 
To  the  green  threshold  of  your  youth,  ah!  come! 

And  hang  your  trophies  round  your  early  home. 

Ye  that  have  suffer'd,  and  whose  weary  eyes 
Have  turn'd  with  sadness  to  your  happier  years, 

Come  to  the  fountain  of  sweet  memories! 
And  by  its  healing  waters,  dry  your  tears. 

Ye  that  departed  young,  and  old  return. 

Ye  who  led  forth  by  hope  —  noAV  hopeless  come. 

If  still  unquenched  within  your  hearts,  doth  burn 
The  sacred  love  and  longing  for  your  home: 

•  This  stanza  was  omitted  in  tlie  reading-,  as  it  was  thought  not  to  be  in  strict  har- 
mony witli  the  occasion.  Ed. 


ODE.  137 


Hail,  hall! 

Bright  hill  and  dale, 

With  joy  resound! 
Join  in  the  joyful  strain! 
Ye  have  not  wept  in  vain, 
The  parted  meet  again, 

The  lost  shall  yet  be  found! 

And  may  God  guard  thee,  oh,  thou  lovely  land ! 

Danger,  nor  evil,  nigh  thy  borders  come. 
Green  towers  of  freedom  may  thy  hills  still  stand. 

Still,  be  each  valley,  peace  and  virtue's  home  : 
The  stranger's  grateful  blessing  rest  on  thee, 
And  firm  as  Heaven,  be  thy  prosperity ! 


Hon.  Ezekiel  Bacon  read  "  The  Stockbndge  Bowl,"  by  Mrs. 
SiGOURNEY,  of  Hartford.  By  way  of  illustrating  the  title  prefixed 
to  the  article  it  is  proper  to  mention  that  the  "  Stockbridge 
Bowl  "  is  the  fanciful  but  very  appropriate  title  bestowed  by  Miss 
Sedgwick  in  some  of  her  writings  upon  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water, 
forming  a  pond,  in  the  north  part  of  the  town  of  Stockbridge. 

[Furnished  for  the  occasion,  by  the  Authoress.] 

THE  STOCKBRIDGE  BOWL. 


The  Stockbridge  Bowl! — Hast  ever  seen 

How  sweetly  pure  and  bright, 
Its  foot  of  stone,  and  rim  of  green 

Attract  the  traveller's  sight  1 — 
High  set  among  the  breezy  hills 

Where  spotless  marble  glows. 
It  takes  the  tribute  of  the  rills 

Distill'd  from  mountain  snows. 

You've  seen,  perchance,  the  classic  vase 

At  Adrian's  villa  found. 
The  grape-vines  that  its  handles  chase, 

And  twine  its  rim  around. 
But  thousands  such  as  that  which  boasts 

The  Roman's  name  to  keep. 
Might  in  this  Stockbridge  Bowl  be  lost 

Like  pebbles  in  the  deep. 

It  yields  no  sparkling  draughts  of  fire 
To  mock  the  madden'd  brain. 

As  that  which  warm'd  Anacreon's  lyre 
Amid  the  Tcan  plain — 


140  BERKSHIRE    JTTBII.EE. 

But  freely,  with  a  right  good  will 
Imparts  its  fountain  store, — 

Whose  heaven-replenished  crystal  still 
Can  wearied  toil  restore. 

The  Indian  hunter  knew  its  power, 

And  oft  its  praises  spoke, 
Long  ere  the  white  man's  stranger-plough 

These  western  vallies  broke; 
The  panting  deer,  that  wild  with  pain 

From  his  pursuers  stole, 
Inhaled  new  life  to  every  vein 

From  this  same  Stockbridge  Bowl. 

And  many  a  son  of  Berkshire  skies, 

Those  men  of  Noble  birth, 
Though  now,  perchance,  their  roofs  may  rise 

In  far,  or  foreign  earth, — 
Shall  on  this  w^ell  remembered  vase 

With  thrilling  bosom  gaze, 
And  o'er  its  mirror'd  surface  trace 

The  joys  of  earlier  days. 

But  one,  that  with  a  spiritg-lance 

Hath  moved  her  country's  heart. 
And  bade,  from  dim  oblivion's  trance 

Poor  Magawiska  start. 
Hath  won  a  fame,  whose  blossoms  rare 

Shall  fear  no  blighting  sky. 
Whose  lustrous  leaf  be  fresh  and  fair, 

When  Stockbridge  Bowl  is  dry. 


PUBLIC    EXERCISES.  141 


SINGING.     Words  by  Mrs.  Sigourney. 

[VVriiten  for  the  occasion] 

They  come!  they  come!  by  ardent  memory  led, 
From  distant  hearth-stones, — a  rejoicing  train, 

And  hand  in  hand  with  kindred  feeling  tread 
Green  Berkshire's  vales  and  breezy  hills  again. 

Back  to  the  cradle  of  their  own  sweet  birth. 
Back  to  the  foot-prints  of  their  flowery  prime. 

Where,  in  the  nursery  of  their  native  earth, 

They  caught  the  spirit  of  their  mountain  clime; 

The  free  bold  spirit,  that  no  chains  can  bind. 
The  earnest  purpose  that  no  toil  can  tame, 

The  calm,  inherent  dignity  of  mind, 

The  love  of  knowledge  and  of  patriot  fame. 

They  bring  the  statesman's  and  the  student's  dower. 

The  honors  that  to  rural  life  belong. 
Of  sacred  eloquence  the  soul-felt  power. 

The  palm  of  science  and  the  wreath  of  song. 

And  thou,  blest  Mother!  with  unfrosted  hair, 
Still  made  by  age  more  beautiful  and  strong, — 

Pour  a  glad  welcome,  at  thy  threshold  fair, 
And  breathe  thy  blessing  o'er  the  filial  throng. 

Enfold  them  warmly  in  thy  fond  embrace. 
And  with  thy  counsels  of  true  wisdom  guide, 

That  like  themselves,  their  yet  uncounted  race. 
May  be  thy  glory,  as  thou  art  their  pride. 


ODE. 

BY      31  RS.      1,.      HYDE. 

To  hills  that  cradled  childhood's  home, 
To  vales  where  kindred  ashes  sleep, 
Gathered  from  far  and  near  we  come 
Our  jubilee  of  love  to  keep: 
Touched  by  one  sympathy,  a  brother  band 
And  proud,  on  Berkshire's  soil  as  ours  to  stand. 

Her  verdant  slopes  and  fertile  plains. 
Each  fairy  wood-embosomed  lake, 
Her  quiet  hamlets,  sacred  fanes. 
Her  men  that  lofty  station  take, 
With  those  whose  memory  comes  from  ohltn  time 
Like  mountain  shadows,  giant  and  sublime. 

Her  fir-crowned,  and  her  classic  heights 
To  Sedgwick's  name  and  page  allied; 
The  choicest  garden  of  delights 
Stretched  far  along  the  river  side; 
Scenes  of  the  wild  and  sweet  and  grand  combined. 
In  moral  beauty  rich,  and  rich  in  cultured  mind; 

These  still  we  claim,  we  breathe  this  air. 
And  feel  the  blood  with  quickened  flow 
Thrill  through  the  frame  long  worn  with  care, 
And  lend  the  cheek  a  youthful  glow; 
Yes,  though  these  brows  may  show  the  touch  of  lime, 
Life's  first  attachments  yet  are  in  their  })rime. 


144  15KKKSI1IKE    JUUILLE. 

Were  not  the  voices  in  our  dreams, 

When  where  dark  sluggish  waters  roll. 
Of  these  our  live  bright  mountain  streams, 
Free  as  thought's  current  in  the  soul; 
Fond  Children  of  the  hills,  afar  we  pined 
Clear,  leaping  brooks,  and  rock-born  flowers  to  find. 

We  view  with  fixed  and  moistened  eye 

Yon  summit,  in  its  grandeur  lone, 
A  spell  to  call  back  years  gone  by; 
Fair  Science,  this  thy  godlike  throne, 
And  holy  thoughts,  which  earth  more  blest  have  made 
In  youthful  bosoms,  woke  beneath  its  shade. 

Southward,  stern  guardian  of  a  vale 

As  Tempe  fair,  old  Monument 
Lifts  his  bare  brow,  all  scarred  and  pale; 
His  name  with  song  and  story  blent, 
A  legend  of  the  roaming  red  man's  days 
Embalmed  in  our  own  gifted  Bryant's  lays. 

In  solemn  quiet  by  the  stream, 

Or  pointing  from  hill-top  to  heaven, 
Speaks  the  white  marble,  "  life's  a  dream;" 
Our  hearts  to  tender  musings  given 
•Are  with  the  dead,  and  buried  treasures  trace 
By  snowy  shaft,  or  modest  tablet's  place. 

To  these  the  passing  tribute  paid, 

Joyful  the  living  friends  we  greet 
At  the  same  altar-hearth  who  prayed 
Or  sat  with  us  in  learning's  seat; 
With  whom,  in  halcyon  days,  delighted  eye 
We  turned  on  laughing  earth  and  sunny  sky. 


ODE.  145 

How  heart  with  heart  is  mingling  here, — 

As  we  our  varied  paths  retrace, — 
How  vanished  scenes  all  re-appear. 
Called  up  by  some  familiar  facej 
Forth  to  the  light  of  day  come  forms  that  dwell, 
Prisoned  in  memory's  deep  and  wondrous  cell. 

Old  friends  are  seated  side  by  side, 
In  smiles  and  tears  embrace  again 
The  household  scattered  long  and  wide; 
From  distant  city,  prairie,  main. 
From  learning's  halls,  from  honor's  high  career. 
From  toils  that  earth's  dark  wastes  reclaim  and  cheer, 

The  sons  of  Berkshire  here  return 

A  chaplet  on  her  brow  to  wreathe. 
Afresh  to  fill  affection's  urn; 

Warm  hearts  in  sweet  communings  breathe 
Praise  for  these  social  joys,  so  richly  given, 
A  fragrant  incense,  borne  on  song  to  Heaven. 

It  is  a  scene  of  interest  rare. 

This  lovely  village  shows  to-day; 
Gem  of  our  mountain,  region  fair. 
Thou  may'st  exult  in  this  display 
Of  worth  and  talent,  in  this  glow  of  soul 
O'er  crystal  water,  not  the  maddening  bowl. 

Nor  all  in  vain  we  trust  may  be 

This  pause  along  life's  hurrying  way, 
Deep  fountains  of  the  heart,  set  free. 
May  blend  in  streams  of  love  to-day. 
And  God  and  man,  their  course  approving,  trace 
In  wide  and  blessed  influence  on  our  race. 

S 


146  DERKSIIIRE  JUBILEE. 

Wc  part,  this  friendly  gatherint^  o'er, 

With  precious  stores  for  memory's  hoardj 
There  is  for  us  one  meeting  more, 
But  not  around  the  festive  board : 
Go  we  to  live  for  that  great  day  alone, 
When  time  is  done,  and  set  the  judgment  throne! 


PUBLIC    EXERCISES.  14' 


SINGING.     Words  by  Mrs.  Hemans. 

For  the  strength  of  the  hills  we  bless  thee, 

Our  God,  our  fathers'  God! 
Thou  hast  made  thy  children  mighty 

By  the  touch  of  the  mountain  sod. 
Thou  hast  fixed  our  ark  of  refuge 

Where  the  spoiler's  foot  ne'er  trod, 
For  the  strength  of  the  hills  we  bless  thee, 

Our  God,  our  fathers'  God! 

We  are  watchers  of  a  beacon 

Whose  lights  must  never  die; 
We  are  guardians  of  an  altar 

'Midst  the  silence  of  the  sky; 
The  rocks  yield  founts  of  courage 

Struck  forth  as  by  thy  rod — 
For  the  strength  of  the  hills  we  bless  thee, 

Our  God,  our  fathers'  God! 

For  the  dark,  resounding  heavens, 

Where  thy  still  small  voice  is  heard; 
For  the  strong  pines  of  the  forests, 

That  by  thy  breath  are  stirred; 
For  the  storms,  on  whose  free  pinions 

Thy  spirit  walks  abroad — 
For  the  strength  of  the  hills  we  bless  thee. 

Our  God,  our  fathers'  God! 

For  the  shadow  of  thy  presence. 

Round  our  camp  of  rock  out-spread; 

For  the  stern  defiles  of  battle, 
Bearing  record  of  our  dead; 


148  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

For  the  snows,  and  for  the  torrents, 
For  the  free  heart's  burial  sod, 

For  the  strength  of  the  hills  we  bless  thee, 
Our  God,  our  fathers'  God! 

8.  BENEDICTION.     By  Pres.  Hopkins. 


FAC-SIMILt;  OF  TflE   DINNF.R  TICKET. 


'^^ 


m  ?JiittSlidi>,  ^ugugt  22  cnt!  23<  Wy),. 
GOV.  BRIGGS,  PRESIDENT. 


COMMITTEE  Or  ARRANGEMENTS  IN  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

Sam'l  R.  Betts,  Robfrt  Cfnter,  Marshall   ^.  Bidweli 

J.  C.  Brigham,  Drake  Mills,  D.  D.  Field, 

Theo   Sedgwick,  Edward  Williams,        R.S.Cook, 

Orville  Dewev,  William  Shkrwood,      Russell  G.  Wheeler 

W.M.  C.  Bryant,  R.  S.mith. 


Masou  NoBi.r. 
Thomas  Kccj-eaton, 

H.  P.   I'EET, 

Joseph  HrDE, 


\ 


BERKSHIRE    COMMITTEE. 


JOHN  TODD,  Chairman. 


S  Lemuel  Pomerov, 

S  H.  H.  Childs, 

^  Charles  Sedgwick, 

s  Henry  W.  Bishop, 

<  H.  Byington, 

^  Edward  Burrall, 

S  J.  Sumner, 

\   W.  Adams, 

^  Samuel  Fargo,  Jk. 

s  R.  Hazard, 


E.  Rice, 
E.  K.  Ensign, 
A. Rising, 
George  Hull, 
L.  Filley, 


P.  Fames, 
Ira  Schutt, 
Wilbur  Cuhtiss, 
S.  Gates, 
Willi.am  Bacon, 


William  Porter,  Jr.  C  J.  Frkeland, 

Alexander  Hyde,  William  E.  Brayton, 

P.  Harmon,  Thomas  Robinson, 

C.Baldwin,  F.  O.Sayles, 

S.  M.  Gardner,  S.  Nohton, 


D.  N.  Dewey, 
A.  Koni . 
R.  Picket, 
Russell  Urow 
J.  ('iiambehlin, 
M.  Kmmons, 
A.  Buck, 
O.  Nash, 
S.  Babbitt, 


FINANCIAL  COMMITTEE.  ' 

JuLiui  Rockwell,  Ensign  H.  KELi.oc;r.,  Phineha.s  Aele:i,  Jx. 

DINNER   TICKET,   AUGUST   23,  1   O'CLOCK. 


THE  DINNER. 


On  adjourning  at  2  o'clock,  P.M.,  from  the  hill  on  which  the 
morning  exercises  had  been  held,  the  company  moved  to  the  old 
"  Military  Grounds,"  now  occupied  by  the  Young  Ladies'  Institute, 
where  a  large  tent  was  spread  to  receive  the  guests  to  the  family 
gathering.  We  have  tried  to  give  a  representation  of  the  scene 
by  the  plate  prefixed.  The  tables  were  admirably  arranged  and 
calculated  to  accommodate  over  three  thousand  persons.  Nearly 
that  number  actually  took  seats  at  the  tables,  while  thousands 
stood  around  the  fences  to  see  the  spectacle  and  hear  the  speeches. 
The  company  consisted  of  about  an  equal  number  of  both  sexes. 
The  exercises  at  the  dinner  w^erc  designed  to  be  diversified,  where 
the  gushings  of  thousands  of  warm  hearts  at  the  family  meeting 
might  be  poured  out. 

On  a  raised  table,  in  the  centre,  at  the  head,  were  the  Presi- 
dent Gov.  Briggs,  Joshua  A.  Spencer,  Esq.,  Judge  Bacon,  and  oth- 
ers. A  blessing  was  asked  by  Rev.  Dr.  Shepard.  Tlic  Addresses 
were  extemporary,  and  are  preserved  by  the  care  of  Mr.  William 
J.  Niles,  of  Spencertown,  N.  Y. 

The  cloth  having  been  removed,  His  Excellency  Hon.  George 
N.  Briggs,  Governor  of  this  Commonwealth,  rose  and  addressed  the 
immense  audience  as  follows: 

Brothers  of  Berkshire!  I  should  do  injustice  to  my  own 
feelings,  if  I  did  not  in  the  outset  declare  to  you  the  deep  feelings 
of  gratitude  which  pervade  my  bosom  at  the  expression  of  your 
kindness  which  has  placed  me  at  the  head  of  this  family  table. 
The  Committee  of  arrangements  have  put  into  my  hands  a  schedule 


254  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

marking  out  what  remains  to  be  done  at  this  family  gatherings 
and  as  the  respectability  of  all  families  depends  very  much  upon 
their  "-ood  order  and  conduct  at  the  table,  you  are  requested  to 
observe  during  the  residue  of  the  ceremonies  the  strictest  order; 
for  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  in  such  a  family  as  this,  before  the  sun 
goes  down  you  will  have  first  rate  speaking.  There  are  some 
"boys  here  that  can  do  that  thing  up  well."  I  see  by  this  ar- 
rano-ement  that  there  are  to  be  some  introductory  remarks  by  the 
President.  I  hardly  know,  my  brothers  and  sisters,  what  to  say 
to  you.  Foreigners  have  said,  that  when  we  get  together  here  in 
this  Yankee  land  we  always  talk  about  ourselves.  Now  I  should 
like  to  know  upon  this  occasion,  what  else  can  be  talked  about; 
for  I  think  it  is  very  bad  policy  for  families  when  they  are  toge- 
ther, to  talk  about  other  folks!  (Laughter.)  It  is  very  right  for 
the  children  when  they  come  home,  to  talk  about  the  old  home  and 
fireside,  and  when  they  cluster  about  the  old  people,  they  have  a 
right  to  talk  of  what  has  taken  place  during  their  absence.  They 
have  a  right  to  inquire  who  is  married,  who  is  dead,  and  who  is — 
runaway !  if  they  please. 

Here  have  come  together  around  this  family  board,  sons  and 
daughters,  whose  residences  are  scattered  over  the  surface  of 
eighteen  of  these  twenty-six  States.  We  may  well  say  to  our- 
selves, (and  if  there  are  strangers  here  they  will  indulge  us  in  say- 
ing so,)  that  we  must  be  rather  a  promising  family  to  have  our 
children  spread  thus  far  and  wide  over  the  four  quarters  of  this 
great  land,  and  gathered  together  again  on  an  occasion  of  this  kind. 
We  have  heard,  brothers,  from  our  friend  yesterday  in  sober 
prose,  and  from  our  other  friend  in  cheerful  poetry — we  have 
heard  much  about  the  history  of  our  good  old  mother  Berkshire. 
They  went  back  to  her  origin  as  a  County,  alluded  to  some  events 
in  her  history,  talked  of  her  loved  and  interesting  children,  spoke  of 
her  beautiful  scenery,  and  of  the  spirit  and  enterprise  of  her  sons 
and  daughters;  and  they  had  a  right  to  talk  so.  It  was  said  to- 
day, that  within  twelve  hours  after  the  news  of  the  first  act  of  ag- 
gression at  Lexington  reached  this  valley  among  these  mountains, 
the  Sons  of  Berkshire  were  on  their  way  to  the  point  of  danger. 
That  is  matter  of  history.  And  it  is  no  less  true,  that  from  that 
moment  till  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown,  there  was 
no  day,  no  hour,  no  battle  fought  of  any  consequence  in  that  great 


THE   DINNER.  155 

struggle  for  independence,  where  not  only  Massachusetts  men 
were  not  found,  but  where  there  were  not  found  also  Berkshire 
men  mingling  in  the  fight. 

A  little  incident  relating  to  that  bold  and  fearless  attack  upon 
Ticonderoga,  I  will  name  to  you.  The  Connecticut  Legislature, 
or  some  of  the  dauntless  ones  there,  conceived  the  idea  of  surpri- 
sing Ticonderoga,  and  they  sent  up  some  right  men  through  this 
region  of  country  to  hold  consultation  as  to  what  plan  of  arrano^e- 
ments  should  be  fixed  upon.  They  came  here  to  the  village  of 
Pittsfield,  and  in  an  old  house  where  Willis'  store  now  stands, 
and  where  lived  the  maternal  grandfather  of  my  friend  at  this  end 
of  the  table,  (Dr.  Childs,)  they  held  consultation,  and  there  his 
grandfather  James  Easton,  John  Brown,  and  other  faithful  men, 
matured  a  plan  of  operations.  Some  were  to  go  to  Jericho,  now 
Hancock,  and  secure  some  choice  spirits;  and  before  the  country 
knew  it,  Ticonderoga  had  surrendered  at  the  demand  of  Ethan 
Allen,  on  an  authority  which  they  dare  not  question.  Col.  John 
Brown  was  a  citizen  of  this  town;  he  went  to  Quebec  and  was 
there  with  Benedict  Arnold;  while  there,  with  his  sacagious  eye, 
he  pierced  through  the  covering  and  discovered  the  traitor.  Be- 
fore he  returned  home  some  difficulty  arose  between  them,  and 
Brown  published  him  as  a  coward  and  traitor.  Afterwards  his 
true  character  was  developed.  You  know  the  history  of  John 
Brown;  he  sleeps  at  Stone  Arabic,  where  he  fell  in  that  murder- 
ous attack  of  the  Indians  upon  the  Mohawk.  And  he  sleeps  nc 
there  alone;  many  a  Berkshire  Boy  fell  with  him.  From  our  lit 
tie  sister  town  of  Lanesborough,  three  of  her  sons  perished  in  that 
bloody  conflict;  many  a  Berkshire  mother's  heart  sunk  within  her 
at  the  news  of  that  day's  work.  Bennington!  they  were  there 
too;  Berkshire  was  alive  when  she  heard  that  her  neighbors  on 
the  north  in  the  Green  Mountain  Slate  were  in  danger,  and  she 
poured  through  the  gorge  of  the  mountain  beyond  WiiJiamstown, 
her  brave  sons;  and  many  of  them  were  in  the  fight,  and  many 
Berkshire  men  fell  there.  That  same  Lanesborough  lost  three 
worthy  soldiers  in  that  battle.  And  so  it  was,  as  I  said  before, 
they  mingled  in  all  the  great  fights,  they  flew  to  every  portion  of 
the  country  where  danger  bade  them.  Out  of  the  G9,000  soldiers 
Avhich  Massachusetts  furnished  to  that  war,  (and  that  was  one-third 
of  the  whole  number,  220,000,  furnished  by  all  the  States  in  the 

T 


156  BEBKSHTRE   JUBILEE. 

American  Revolution,)  this,  our  native  County,  furnished  her  full 
proportion,  licrkshire  men  were  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown.  I  knew  a  good  old  man  —  peace  to  his  ashes! — who 
was  through  that  whole  revolutionary  struggle.  He  was  a  brave 
soldier  and  a  true  son  of  Massachusetts;  and  was  as  honest  and 
just  in  peace  as  he  was  firm  and  courageous  in  war.  In  that 
dreadful  winter,  at  Valley  Forge,  he  suffered  with  his  fellow  sol- 
diers. The  last  time  I  saw  him,  he  gave  me  the  whole  history  of 
the  battle  of  Yorktown.  He  was  there  during  the  preceding  sum- 
mer, and  discharged  many  an  important  and  confidential  trust  con- 
fided to  him  by  La  Fayette.  And  I  saw  that  good  old  man  meet 
in  this  village  his  brave  and  generous  old  commander.  Fifty  years 
had  passed  since  they  fought  together,  the  old  man  had  toiled 
away  in  his  shop  at  Lanesborough,  and  when  he  heard  that  La 
Fayette  was  to  be  here,  his  heart  beat  high  with  the  pulsations  of 
youth,  and  he  said  he  must  see  his  General  once  more.  He  came 
down  and  met  him  under  yonder  elm,  and  when  he  mentioned  an 
incident  which  served  to  awaken  old  associations,  they  clasped 
each  other  and  wept  like  children.  His  name  is  David  Jewett  — 
a  name  which  has  never  gone  abroad  on  the  wings  of  Fame,  but  he 
was  one  of  those  w'ho  resembled  more  the  corner  stone  of  the 
building  w^hich  the  world  never  sees,  than  he  did  some  more  orna- 
mental but  less  important  part. 

And  so  we  went  through  the  Revolution.  Well,  in  the  last  war, 
(for  I  am  now  talking  about  the  soldiers  of  Berkshire,)  so  long  as 
the  name  of  the  "  Bloody  9th  "  shall  endure,  so  long  the  valor  of 
Berkshire  soldiers  will  be  borne  in  mind.  We  have  had  an  Indian 
war  in  Florida,  and  oh!  what  a  rich  and  costly  sacrifice  Berkshire 
has  offered  upon  that  altar.  Our  own  young  Lt.  Center,  from  this 
Pittsfield,  fell  by  a  bullet  from  a  Seminole  rifle;  and  our  Childs 
spent  some  three  or  four  years  amidst  the  bogs  of  Florida,  and  al- 
most fatally  impaired  one  of  the  finest  constitutions  in  the  world. 
During  all  his  course  in  that  most  inglorious  war,  he  never  did  an 
act  of  unnecessary  cruelty,  or  was  guilty  of  perfidy  towards  the 
hunted  Indians  of  the  Florida  everglades. 

It  was  said  yesterday,  my  friends,  and  it  is  true,  that  the  first  Ag- 
ricultural Society  in  the  United  States,  was  organized  in  Berkshire. 
It  is  now  in  full  and  prosperous  operation',  and  there  is  no  class  of 
citizens  in  this  County  who  have  not  reaped  benefit  from  it;  the 


THE    DINNER.  157 

farmer,  the  mechanic,  the  laboring  man,  and  the  professional  man. 
Our  agriculture  is  improved,  our  manufactures  are  fostered,  our  me- 
chanical arts  benefited,  the  social  feelings  have  been  cultivated 
and  enlarged  among  all  our  inhabitants.  During  the  thirty-three 
years  of  the  existence  of  this  Society,  which  has  been  a  period  of 
political  commotion  and  excitement  unparalelled  in  the  history  of 
this  or  any  other  country,  there  never  was  a  time  when  politics  in 
any  form  have  been  introduced  upon  either  of  the  days  of  our 
Agricultural  Fair.  Though  for  the  last  forty  years  we  have  been 
almost  equally  divided  into  political  parties,  there  has  been  less 
bitterness  of  feeling  among  partisans,  and  a  kinder  and  more  bro- 
therly spirit  among  our  citizens,  than  in  almost  every  other  sec- 
tion of  the  country.  We  have  shown  that  "  every  difference  of 
opinion  is  not  a  difference  of  sentiment." 

Here  all  denominations  of  religion  exist.  Who  has  ever  seen 
among  the  different  persuasions,  more  harmony  and  Christian  good 
will  prevailing  than  in  this  very  County  of  Berkshire'? 

I  was  admonished  by  the  Committee  that  one  part  of  the  ar- 
rangements is  that  speeches  must  be  short.  We  should  make  the 
best  speeches  in  the  fewest  words.  I  have  spoken  in  a  desultory 
manner;  my  heart  is  too  full  for  connected  thought,  or  studied 
speech.  Brothers,  we  have  come  together,  (and  thank  Heaven 
that  we  have  lived  to  see  this  happy  occasion,)  to  mingle  our  feel- 
ings and  rekindle  our  affections  at  this  family  altar.  We  have 
come  in  the  fulness  of  our  joy,  to  talk  to  and  of  one  another,  to 
enquire  of  each  others'  welfare,  to  say  how  we  have  fared  during 
our  long  separation.  We  know  that  our  brothers  from  abroad 
bring  back  good  tidings  of  the  counties  where  they  dwell;  stran- 
gers have  shown  them  kindness.  Our  hearts  have  been  made  glad 
to  hear  of  their  prosperity  in  every  part  of  this  goodly  land. 
The  south  and  the  west  have  dealt  kindly  with  them.  During  the 
time  I  was  honored  with  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States,  I  met  in  every  Congress  Berkshire  men.  In  one 
House  of  Representatives  there  were  eight  members  who  were 
Sons  of  Berkshire.  Wherever  her  sons  are  found,  whether  in 
honor  or  humility,  they  remember  their  good  old  Mother  with 
affection.  Well,  here  we  are  once  more  together  in  the  old  home- 
stead, amidst  all  the  joyful  and  endearing  associations  which  have 
been  so  touchingly  described  yesterday  and  to-day. 


158  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

In  the  freshness  of  this  gushing  joy  a  sad  reflection  comes  over 
the  mind,  that  this  glad  Jubilee  will  be  the  last  that  many  of  us 
will  ever  witness.  Of  the  present  we  are  secure,  and  for  its  bless- 
ings we  thank  Heaven  around  this  family  table.  You  have  come, 
my  friends,  to  walk  in  the  green  meadows  over  which  youV  boyish 
feet  once  ran  with  the  lightness  of  the  roe,  to  ramble  over  the 
pasture  where  once  you  lingered  after  the  returning  cows — to  look 
into  the  old  well  and  see  its  dripping  bucket,  to  gaze  upon  that  old 
apple  tree  where  you  gathered  the  early  fruit,  to  walk  on  the 
banks  of  the  winding  stream  and  stand  by  the  silver  pool  over 
which  the  willow  bent  and  in  which  you  bathed  your  young 
limbs,  to  visit  the  spot  where  with  your  brothers  and  sisters  you 
gathered  the  ripe  berries — to  look  upon  that  old  school  house 
where  you  learned  to  read  and  to  spell,  to  write  and  to  cypher, 
where  sometimes  you  felt  the  stinging  birch — to  re-ascend  that  well 
remembered  rock  upon  which  in  mirth  and  play  you  spent  so  many 
happy  hours,  to  see  if  it  looked  and  appeared  as  it  used  to,  to 
walk  once  more  up  the  alley  of  that  old  church  where  you  first 
heard  the  revered  and  loved  Parson  preach  and  pray — and  you 
have  come  to  visit  the  peaceful  graveyard,  to  walk  among  its 
green  mounds  and  drop  the  tear  of  affection  and  friendship  upon 
the  silent  resting  place  of  loved  ones  who  sleep  there.  You  have 
come  here  to  rekindle  at  this  domestic  fireside  the  holy  feelings  of 
youth.  To  all  these  we  bid  you  welcome!  Welcome  to  these 
green  vallies  and  lofty  mountains.  Welcome  to  this  feast,  to  our 
homes,  to  our  hearts.  Welcome  to  every  thing.  Once  more  I 
say,  welcome! 

I  give  you  for  a  sentiment, 

The  County  of  Berkshire — She  loves  her  institutions  and 
her  beautiful  scenery,  but  feeling  the  sentiment  and  borrowing  the 
language  of  the  Roman  mother,  she  points  to  her  children  and 
exclaims,  "  These  are  my  Jewels." 

I  call  upon  brother  Bidwell,  a  true  Son  of  Berkshire,  for  a 
speech  or  a  sentiment,  or  both. 


THE  DINNER.  159 

Hon.  Marshal  S.  Bidwell  of  New-York,  then  took  the  stand, 
and  spoke  nearly  as  follows: 

My  Friends!  In  taking  this  position,  in  compliance  with  the 
request  of  friends  by  whom  I  am  surrounded,  I  do  so  chiefly  for 
the  sake  of  setting  a  good  example,  which  I  hope  may  be  followed 
by  others  who  shall  be  called  upon  to  succeed  me.  I  iiave  not 
come  here  prepared  to  make  any  speech.  I  have  come  here  sim- 
ply to  enjoy  one  of  the  dearest  wishes  of  my  heart  —  that  of  re- 
visiting, after  a  long  absence,  and  with  interruptions,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  many,  many  years  in  a  foreign  land,  the  scenes  and  the 
friends  of  my  childhood.  I  come,  1  know,  with  the  same  senti- 
ments and  feelings  which  are  experienced  by  the  thousands  around 
mej  and  it  does  rejoice  my  heart  to  stand  here,  as  His  Excellency 
our  honored  President  has  said,  a  Son  of  Berkshire.  It  is  the 
proudest  title  to  which  I  have  ever  aspired,  and  I  cannot  tell  you 
how  I  have  been  gratified  at  coming  back  again  amid  these  beau- 
tiful hills  and  valleys,  and  this  now  auspicious  sky,  and  re-breath- 
ing that  air,  which  is  so  well  calculated  to  give  an  impulse  to  the 
sentiments  and  feelings  that  are  cherished  by  every  one  who  loves 
human  liberty  and  human  happiness,  under  a  government  of  laws. 

I  have  told  you  I  have  not  come  here  to  make  a  speech,  and  I 
intend  to  verify  what  I  have  said,  by  simply  offering  in  place  of 
it,  a  sentiment  felt,  I  am  persuaded,  by  every  son  and  daughter  of 
Berkshire  here  present — 

The  scenes  and  friends  of  our  child/ioodl 

Where  is  there  a  person  whose  heart  does  not  beat  quicker  in 
the  midst  of  such  hallowed  associations.  The  love  of  our  native 
place  is  the  universal  law  of  nature.  It  is  a  law  which  is  felt  and 
obeyed,  even  by  the  inanimate  world.  The  lofty  and  stately  palm, 
which  flourishes  amid  the  burning  sands  of  the  tropics,  is  withered 
when  transplanted  to  the  frigid  zone;  and  the  moss  which  dis- 
plays in  such  beauty  and  such  microscopic  wonder  the  powers  of 
he  Almighty  Creator  in  the  northern  regions,  cannot  exist  when 
transplanted  to  the  midst  of  tropical  suns.  And  so  it  is  with  eve- 
ry order  of  animate  nature.  The  eagle  loves  its  solitary  nest,  be- 
cause it  is  his  native  home;  and  all  animals,  even  the  ferocious 
beasts  of  prey,  in  the  deserts  of  Africa,  love  them,  because  they 
are  their  native  home.     But  how  much   more  powerfully  is  this 


160  BEUKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

sentiment  felt  by  man,  gifted  with  reason,  and  capable  of  enjoy- 
ment in  tiie  higliest  degree  of  the  noble  and  social  affections!  How 
does  he  love  the  scenes  of  his  childhood!  and  that  universally,  no 
matter  where  his  lot  be  cast;  he  loves  it  because  it  is  his  native 
place.  But  with  how  much  more  force,  should  this  sentiment 
be  felt  in  our  hearts,  blessed  with  such  a  home,  and  such  na- 
tive scenes,  and  such  glorious  and  kindling  associations  connect- 
ed with  them,  when  we  recur  to  them,  not  because  of  the  luxuri- 
ous display  of  the  line  arts,  not  because  they  are  scenes  of  glory  in 
the  estimation  of  the  warrior,  with  his  "  garments  rolled  in  blood," 
but  because  they  are  so  beautiful  and  so  picturesque,  and  because 
the  simple  and  stern  virtues,  have  brought  together  such  a  family 
as  we  witness  here  this  day,  where  order  and  decorum  are  associa- 
ted in  so  high  a  degree  with  social  enjoyment,  and  with  the  dis- 
play which  we  have  had  yesterday  and  to-day  of  intellectual 
worth.  I  am  therefore  sure,  my  friends,  when  I  propose  this  sen- 
timent, it  will  find  a  ready  echo,  in  all  these  bosoms  around  me. 

One  of  the  most  gratifying  things  connected  with  this  Jubilee, 
is,  that  it  has  power  almost  (I  speak  it  with  no  spirit  of  levity, 
much  less  of  profanity,)  of  working  miracles.  It  brings  back  the 
old  forms  of  the  lamented,  who  have  preceded  us  to  the  world  of 
spirits.  It  raises  the  dead.  It  is  not  you,  my  friends,  beloved 
and  honored,  whom  I  see  here,  by  whom  alone  I  am  surrounded. 
No:  there  are  glorious  forms  around  me;  dear  and  loved  ones  on 
every  side  are  springing  up,  as  if  by  magic,  in  the  midst  of  all 
these  scenes  in  which  we  now  associate.  Those  who  were  the 
friends  of  our  childhood,  the  fathers  whom  we  revered,  how  can 
we  see  them  again  breathing  as  it  were  around  us,  and  blessing  us 
for  a  time  at  least  by  their  revered  presence.  Brethren,  sisters, 
dear  friends  whom  we  have  cherished  in  our  hearts,  are  here  not 
forgotten  in  our  Jubilee.  They  cannot  sit  down  at  our  table 
with  us,  but  thanks  be  to  God,  we  can  from  the  bosoms  where 
they  have  long  dwelt,  revive  them  here,  and  see  them  in  all  their 
attraction,  beauty  and  blessedness.  I  therefore  conclude,  Mr. 
President,  by  repeating  the  sentiment, 

The  friends  and  the  scenes  of  our  childhood  ! 

Sentiment  by  Drake  Mills,  Esq.,  of  New- York  : 
Old  Berkshire — Her  fair  fame,  a  passport  for  her  sons  wher- 
ever they  go — her   principles,  a  guarantee  of  success   whatever 
they  do. 


THE  DINNER.  161 

The  President  announced  that  a  poem  \vould  now  be  delivered 
by  Dr.  Holmes  of  Boston. 

Dr.  Oliver  W.  Holmes  rose  in  his  place,  but  was  greeted  with 
cries  from  various  parts  of  the  audience,  to  come  to  the  centre  of  the 
ground,  so  as  to  be  heard  by  all.  Tiie  President  said — And  I  sug- 
gest to  the  gentleman  to  follow  the  example  of  our  good  friend 
who  preceded  him,  and  get  upon  the  table,  which  is  an  advance- 
ment upon  former  feasts,  where  the  tendency  was  rather  to  get 
under  the  table.     (Cheers.) 

Dr.  Holmes  accordingly  took  the  table  and  requested  to  be 
allowed  before  he  opened  the  very  brief  paper  in  his  hand,  to  as- 
sure his  friends  of  the  reason  why  he  had  found  himself  here. 
It  shall  be  short,  (said  he,)  but  inasmuch  as  the  company  express 
willingness  to  hear  historical  incidents,  any  little  incident  which 
shall  connect  me  with  those  to  whom  I  cannot  claim  to  be  a  broth- 
er, seems  to  be  fairly  brought  forward.  I  will  take  the  liberty 
to  refer  to  one.  One  of  my  earliest  recollections  is  of  an  annual 
pilgrimage,  made  by  my  parents  to  the  west.  The  young  horse 
was  brought  up,  fatted  by  a  week's  rest  and  high  feeding,  prancing 
and  caracoling  to  the  door.  It  came  to  the  corner  and  was  soon 
over  the  western  hills.  He  was  gone  a  fortnight;  and  one  after- 
noon— it  always  seemed  to  me  it  v^'as  a  sunny  afternoon — we  saw 
an  equipage  crawling  from  the  west,  towards  the  old  homestead; 
the  young  horse  who  sat  out  fat  and  prancing,  worn  thin  and  re- 
duced by  a  long  journey — the  chaise  covered  with  dust,  and  all 
speaking  of  a  terrible  crusade,  a  formidable  pilgrimage.  Winter 
evening  stories  told  me  where — to  Berkshire,  to  the  borders  of 
New-York,  to  the  old  domain,  owned  so  long  that  there  seemed 
a  kind  of  hereditary  love  for  it.  Many  years  passed  away,  and  I  tra- 
velled down  the  beautiful  Rhine:  I  wished  to  see  the  equally  beau- 
tiful Hudson.  I  found  myself  at  Albany;  a  few  hours  ride  brought 
me  to  Pittsfield,  and  I  went  to  the  little  spot,  the  scene  of  this  pil- 
grimage— a  mansion — and  found  it  surrounded  by  a  beautiful 
meadow,  through  which  the  winding  river  made  its  course  in  ten 
thousand  fantastic  curves;  the  mountains  reared  their  heads  around 
it,  the  blue  air  which  makes  our  city  pale  cheeks  again  to  deepen 
with  the  hue  of  health,  coursing  about  it  pure  and  free.  I  recog- 
nized it  as  the  scene  of  the  annual  pilgrimage.  Since  that  I  have 
made  an  annual  visit  to  it. 


162  BERKSHIRE    JUPILEK. 

In  1735,  Hon.  Jacob  Wcndall,  my  grandfather  in  the  maternal 
line,  bought  a  township  not  then  laid  out — the  township  of  Pon- 
toosuc — and  that  little  spot  which  we  still  hold,  is  the  relic  of 
24,000  acres  of  baronial  territory.  When  I  say  this,  no  feeling 
■which  can  be  the  subject  of  ridicule  animates  my  bosom.  I  know 
too  w^ell,  that  the  hills  and  rocks  outlast  our  families;  I  know  we 
fall  upon  the  places  we  claim  as  the  leaves  of  the  forest  fall,  and 
as  passed  the  soil  from  the  hands  of  the  original  occupants  into 
the  hands  of  my  immediate  ancestors,  I  know  it  must  pass  from 
me  and  mine;  and  yet  with  pleasure  and  pride  I  feel  I  can  take 
every  inhabitant  by  the  hand,  and  say,  if  I  am  not  a  son,  or  a 
grandson,  or  even  a  nephew  of  that  fair  County,  at  least  I  am 
allied  to  it  by  an  hereditary  relation.  But  I  have  no  right  to  in- 
dulge in  sentimental  remarks.     (Cries  of  "go  on,  go  on.") 

Dr.  Holmes  read  the  poem  as  follows,  which  was  received  with 
continued  and  hearty  cheers. 

Come  back  to  your  Mother,  ye  children,  for  shame, 
Who  have  wandered  like  truants,  for  riches  or  fame! 
With  a  smile  on  her  face  and  a  sprig  on  her  cap, 
She  calls  you  to  feast  from  her  bountiful  lap. 

Come  out  from  your  alleys,  your  courts  and  your  lanes, 
And  breathe,  like  young  eagles,  the  air  of  our  plains: 
Take  a  whifF  from  our  fields,  and  your  excellent  wives 
Will  declare  it's  all  nonsense  insuring  your  lives. 

Come  you  of  the  law,  who  can  talk  if  you  please. 
Till  the  man  in  the  moon  will  allow  it's  a  cheese, 
And  leave  "  the  old  lady,  that  never  tells  lies," 
To  sleep  with  her  handkerchief  over  her  eyes. 

Ye  healers  of  men,  for  a  moment  decline 

Your  feats  in  the  rhubarb  and  ipecac  line; 

While  you  shut  up  your  turnpike,  your  neighbors  can  go, 

The  old  roundabout  road  to  the  regions  below. 

You  clerk,  on  whose  ears  are  a  couple  of  pens, 
And  whose  head  is  an  ant-hill  of  units  and  tens; 
Though  Plato  denies  you,  we  welcome  you  still 
As  a  featherless  biped,  in  spite  of  your  quill. 


THE  DINNER.  163 

Poor  drudge  of  the  city,  how  happy  he  feels 

With  the  burs  on  his  legs,  and  the  grass  at  his  heels; 

No  dodger  behind,  his  bandanas  to  share, 

No  constable  grumbling  "  You  mus'nt  walk  there." 

In  yonder  green  meadow,  to  memory  dear, 

He  slaps  a  musketo  and  brushes  a  tearj 

The  dew-drops  hang  round  him,  on  blossoms  and  shoots, 

He  breathes  but  one  sigh  for  his  youth  and  his  boots. 

There  stands  the  old  school-house,  hard  by  the  old  church- 
That  tree  at  its  side  had  the  flavor  of  birch; 
Oh  sweet  were  the  days  of  his  juvenile  tricks, 
Though  the  prairie  of  youth  had  so  many  "  big  licks." 

By  the  side  of  yon  river  he  weeps  and  he  slumps. 
The  boots  filled  with  water,  as  if  they  were  pumps; 
Till  sated  with  rapture,  he  steals  to  his  bed. 
With  a  glow  in  his  heart  and  a  cold  in  his  head. 

'Tis  past — he  is  dreaming — I  see  him  again; 
His  ledger  returns  as  by  legerdemain; 
His  neck-cloth  is  damp,  with  an  easterly  flaw. 
And  he  holds  in  his  fingers  an  omnibus  straw. 

He  dreams  the  shrill  gust  is  a  blossomy  gale, 
That  the  straw  is  a  rose  from  his  dear  native  vale; 
And  murmurs,  unconscious  of  space  and  of  time, 
"  A.  1.     Extra-super — Ah,  is'nt  it  prime!" 

Oh!  what  are  the  prizes  we  perish  to  win. 

To  the  first  little  "  shiner"  we  caught  with  a  pin! 

No  soil  upon  earth  is  as  dear  to  our  eyes 

As  the  soil  we  first  stirred  in  terrestrial  pies! 

Then  come  from  all  parties,  and  parts,  to  our  feast. 
Though  not  at  the  "  Astor,"  we'll  give  you  at  least 
A  bite  at  an  apple,  a  seat  on  the  grass, 
And  the  best  of  cold— water— at  nothing  a  glass. 


164  DERKSIIlIiE   JUBILEE. 

Judge  Dewey  was  introduced  to  tlie  meeting,  and  said — 

Mr.  President,  Gentlemen  and  Ladies  —  I  come  from  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  circle  represented  here,  in  obedience  to  a 
notice  which  has  been  circulated  by  the  gentlemen  originally,  as  I 
understand,  from  the  city  of  New-York;  and  the  first  thing  that 
occurred  to  me,  was  how  it  happened  gentlemen  from  New-York 
were  coming  here  to  take  possession  of  this  fair  soil  of  ours.  Sure- 
ly, gentlemen,  the  time  was,  when  such  an  array  of  enemy,  official 
or  unofficial,  coming  into  this  fair  valley  of  the  Housatonic  by  vir- 
tue of  their  rights  under  the  Dutch,  would  not  have  been  tolera- 
ted: and  the  only  reason  why  we  are  now  satisfied  is,  that      *     * 

Come  to  scrutinize  these  names  a  little  closely,  I  found  them 
all  kin  of  ours,  come  here  not  to  drive  us  from  this  plain  posses- 
sion of  ours,  but  as  friends  to  take  us  by  the  hand  — and  as  friends 
we  take  them  by  the  hand.  I  am  grateful  for  the  invitation;  I 
think  it  was  done  up  in  the  best  manner.  I  have  received  for  the 
coming  week,  the  28th  August,  in  the  town  of  Framingham,  a  no- 
tice wherein  are  requested  all  the  descendants  of  one  Richard  Ha- 
ven to  a  general  gathering,  and  in  this  invitation  are  included  all 
the  descendants  in  any  way  connected  with  him  by  marriage,  and 
z\\  who  ever  expected  to  be!  (Laughter.)  Now,  my  friends  from 
New-York,  you  have  not  done  this  thing  well!  here  you  find  an 
improvement  upon  you.  (Laughter.)  Judge  Dewey  stated  that 
he  was  not  a  native  of  Berkshire,  but  of  Hampshire;  but  alluding 
to  the  fact  that  in  1761,  the  former  was  a  part  of  the  latter  County, 
and  that  he  had  spent  so  large  a  portion  of  his  life  here,  said  he 
felt  that  he  was  a  native  of  Berkshire. 

This  is  a  joyous  occasion,  (said  he,)  a  happy  family,  and  it  is  de- 
lightful to  come  here  from  all  parts  of  our  common  country  and 
mingle  together,  and  take  by  the  hand  the  friends  of  our  early 
days,  and  here  again  to  pledge  anew  our  devotion  to  their  inter- 
ests and  to  the  common  interests  of  our  common  country.  To 
this  County  my  early  associations  have  ever  closely  and  warm- 
ly attached;  from  this  County  I  have  received  much  to  fill  my 
heart  with  gratitude,  and  I  always  turn  to  it  as  to  the  happy  spot 
on  which  I  would  rest  my  eyes  as  the  last  resting  place  of  those 
friends  of  my  early  days,  near  and  dear  to  me,  who  have  gone  be- 
fore me.     On  the  present  occasion  we  come  back  glorying,  not  in 


THE    DINNER.  165 

the  spirit  of  vain  boasting,  I  hope,  but  glorying  when  we  see  how 
great  have  been  the  productions  of  this  County  of  every  kind,  whe- 
ther in  agriculture,  manufactures,  the  mechanic  arts,  and  in  intel- 
lectual acquisitions.  In  the  learned  professions  we  turn  with 
proud  satisfaction  to  Berkshire,  and  find  we  have  sent  forth  more, 
far  more  than  our  adequate  proportion  of  the  population  of  this 
country. 

Permit  me,  Mr.  President,  for  a  moment  to  refer  to  what  Berk- 
shire has  done  in  relation  to  filling  judicial  stations.  You  have 
furnished,  are  you  aware  of  if?  a  Judge  for  Pennsylvania,  long  ho- 
nored and  respected  there,  and  now  in  office;  a  Judge  for  Michigan; 
a  Chief  Justice  for  New-York,  and  one  for  Queen's  Bench  at  Mon- 
treal. We  have  furnished  those  who  have  occupied  seals  in  Con- 
gress to  a  very  great  number,  as  was  mentioned  by  our  honored 
President,  eight  at  one  time.  There  are  no  less  than  five  from 
Williamstown,  native  and  reared  in  our  town,  who  have  been  ho- 
nored by  this  public  station  before  the  country,  and  who  have  sus- 
tained themselves  ably  and  faithfully. 

You  have  not  only  those  great  natural  objects  and  the  endear- 
ing associations  connected  with  them  in  which  you  may  glory,  but 
you  may  glory  in  these  inhabitants.  Look  at  the  interest  they 
have  in  schools,  in  colleges,  in  the  great  works  of  improvement, 
and  at  the  zeal  and  devotion  with  which  they  labor  for  the  good 
of  mankind.  When  I  look  at  all  these  things,  I  come  back  here 
with  pleasure  to  acknowledge  that  this  is  the  County  in  which,  not 
where  I  drew  my  native  breath,  but  where  I  received  ray  early  edu- 
cation and  principles,  and  whatever  may  have  fitted  me  for  use- 
fulness in  the  station  I  now  occupy;  and  I  have  only  time  now  to 
say  to  you  that  ray  ardent  prayer  is,  that  rich  as  this  County  is  in 
the  beauty  of  its  scenery,  in  the  variety  and  value  of  its  natural 
productions,  in  its  mechanic  arts,  in  its  agriculture  and  manufac- 
tures, long  may  it  be  rich  in  the  love  of  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
long  may  here  endure  the  great  principles  wliii  h  wc  have  derived 
from  our  Puritan  fathers,  purifying  and  protecting  us  to  the  latest 
generations. 


16G  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

Sentiment  by  Tiios.  Allen,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.: 

The  Natives  of  Berkshire — 

"  They  love  their  land,  because  it  is  their  own, 
And  scorn  to  give  aught  other  reason  why; 
Would  shake  hands  with  a  king  upon  his  throne, 

And  think  it  kindness  to  his  majesty; 
A  stubborn  race,  fearing  and  flattering  none." 

Hon.  John  Mills. 

Mr.  President  —  The  Sons  of  Berkshire  who  hail  from  my 
native  place,  the  town  of  Sandisfield,  have  conferred  upon  me 
the  honor  of  saying  a  few  words  in  their  name  on  this  occasion. 

That  town  cannot  boast  of  its  fertile  and  extended  vallies,  like 
those  through  which  meanders  the  beautiful  Housatonic,  nor  has 
it  any  thing  so  grand  and  imposing  in  its  scenery,  as  to  excite  the 
special  admiration  of  the  passing  stranger.  It  has  enough,  however, 
of  natural  scenery,  of  mountain,  stream  and  valley,  to  be  kept  in 
lively  recollection  by  all,  who  in  their  early  years  "  run  upon  its 
hills,  or  waded  in  its  mountain  streams  from  morning  sun  till  dine." 
In  reference  to  those  now  resident  there,  I  shall  suppress  all  feel- 
ings of  personal  friendship,  and  only  say,  that  we  claim  for  them 
an  intelligence  and  moral  w^orth  equal  to  that  which  distinguishes 
the  population  of  the  other  portions  of  your  County.  The  emi- 
grants from  that  town  are  numerous,  and  are  dispersed  through 
most  of  the  States  of  the  Union.  Most  of  them  are  engaged  in 
agriculture  —  many  of  them  have  "  names  well  known  on  change" 
as  enterprising  and  successful  merchants  —  a  few  only,  are  of  the 
legal  or  medical  profession,  but  a  large  number  are  clergymen  — 
all  of  respectable,  and  some  of  them  of  high  standing  in  their  pro- 
fession. 

We  all  feel,  Mr.  President,  that  "  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here." 
Pleasant  has  been  the  interchange  of  civilities  and  congratulations. 
Pleasant  the  participation  in  the  refined  hospitality  of  the  citizens 
of  this  delightful  village.  But  a  more  enduring  good  will  result 
from  this  meeting.  Our  good  resolutions  are  here  strengthened 
and  confirmed,  and  we  shall  return  to  our  respective  homes  and 
stations  in  society,  stimulated  with  the  firm  resolve,  that  whatever 
influence  we  possess  shall  be  devoted  to  promote  and  advance  the 
best  interests  of  the  community  in  which  we  reside. 


THE    DINNER.  1G7 

If  ever  there  can  be  a  public  occasion,  when  the  undisguised 
language  of  the  heart  should  be  freely  uttered  and  kindly  receiv- 
ed, this  surely  may  be  regarded  as  such.  As  one  of  the  members 
congregated  around  the  family  hearth,  I  will  not  fear  that  the 
indulgence  I  may  give  to  my  thoughts  will  here  encounter  either 
ridicule  or  frigid  criticism.  Electing  you,  sir,  and  this  respectable 
audience  my  confessors  on  the  occasion,  I  intend,  therefore,  in  all 
that  relates  to  Berkshire  or  Sandisfield,  connected  with  my  own 
feelings,  to  "make  a  clean  breast  of  it." 

We  all  feel  love  for  our  common  country — a  stronger  attach- 
ment for  our  native  State  and  County,  and  stronger  still  for  the 
particular  locality  where  we  were  born.  .But  it  is  not,  I  believe, 
till  life  is  considerably  advanced,  that  we  feel  any  particular  soli- 
citude as  to  the  place  lohere  it  may  terminate;  and  I  doubt  whe- 
ther those  who  have  the  good  fortune  to  spend  their  days  where 
they  were  born,  are  conscious  of  the  true  cause  that  gives  the 
charm  to  that  locality.  If  there  be  in  this  village  one  who  was 
here  born,  and  has  here  passed  his  days, —  one  who  has  survived 
the  friends  and  companions  of  his  youth,  he  will  tell  you,  that  the 
remnant  of  life  can  more  happily  be  spent  here  than  elsewhere, 
and  would  probably  assign  as  the  reason,  that  here  are  the  graves 
of  his  fathers,  and  here  too  he  desires  to  make  his  own.  But  re- 
move him  permanently  to  some  other  section  of  the  country,  and 
he  would  soon  be  sensible  of  another  cause  for  this  local  prefer- 
ence. The  place  to  which  which  w^e  may  suppose  him  removed, 
might  have  charms,  if  possible,  superior  to  your  village.  From 
his  window  or  in  his  walks,  the  most  delightful  scenery  should 
be  presented  to  his  view,  and  he  should  be  able  fully  to  appreciate 
its  beauties;  still  there  would  be  something  wanting — the  eye 
would  no  where  rest  on  certain  well  known  objects  of  inanimate 
nature,  intimately  entwined  with  his  earliest  impressions.  "  Where, 
(he  would  exclaim,)  w^here  is  the  great  e/ni  arouiul  whose  trunk, 
and  in  the  shade  of  whose  branches  I  gamboled  with  my  youthful 
companions  sixty  years  ago  ?  Where  the  beautiful  curve-crested 
mountain  range  in  the  west  7  The  higher  elevation  at  the  north, 
and  those  in  the  east  1  Elevations  on  which  I  gazed  with  admir- 
ing wonder  before  my  tongue  was  able  to  articulate  their  names. 
Elevations,  the  view  and  contemplation  of  which  gave  the  first 
impress  of  grandeur  and  sublimity    to  my  imagination."''     Such 


1G8  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

would  be  the  lanf^uagc  of  his  heart,  and  could  you  place  the  Alps 
or  the  Pyrenees  in  position  most  favorable  for  effect  upon  his  vision, 
they  would  be  inadequate  substitutes  for  those  I  have  named, — 
"  the  form  and  size"  of  which,  with  their  garniture  of  light  and 
shade,  would  be  blended  with,  and  in  fact  constitute  a  part  of  his 
moral  existence. 

May  I  be  indulged  in  bringing  the  subject  home  to  myself  ? 

It  is  now  more  than  thirty  years  since  I  left  my  native  town. 
Driven  out  —  mercifully  driven  o\it  by  "  poverty  like  a  strong  man 
armed,"  to  seek  my  fortunes  elsewhere.  Of  my  sojourn,  it  is 
sufficient  for  my  present  purpose  to  say,  that  for  the  last  eight 
years  my  home  kas  been  in  a  pleasant  town  on  the  banks  of  the 
Connecticut.  If  during  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  the  period 
named,  it  had  at  any  time  been  proposed  that  I  should  return  to 
Sandisfield,  and  there  spend  the  residue  of  my  days,  the  pro- 
position would  have  been  extremely  repugnant  to  my  inclination. 
But  recently  a  change  in  that  respect  has  "  come  over  the  spirit 
of  my  dream."  Now  it  is,  that  when  I  go  upon  the  elevations 
east  of  our  village,  and  stop  to  admire,  as  I  always  do,  the  beau- 
tiful panorama  spread  before  me,  embracing  the  Connecticut  and 
the  valley  of  the  Agawam  also,  and  my  imagination  aiding  my 
natural  vision,  gives  me  a  view  of  the  towns,  and  villages,  and 
cities  on  either  side  that  river,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  I  can- 
not but  feel  grateful  and  happy  that  my  lot  is  cast  in  that  delight- 
ful valley.  And  yet  sir,  I  never  leave  the  spot  without  turning 
my  eyes  to  the  mountain  range  constituting  the  boundary  between 
Berkshire  and  Hampden,  and  reflecting  with  no  ordinary  emotion, 
that  further  to  the  west,  on  the  same  mountain  range,  is  the  place 
of  my  nativity.  It  may  appear  strange,  that  one  thus  situated, 
who,  as  his  wants  are  few  and  limited,  has  nothing  to  desire  but 
that  the  residue  of  his  days  may  be  as  happy  as  those  that  are 
past,  should  be  willing  to  make  his  home  in  a  place  wheie  winter 
never  fails  to  '*  linger  in  the  lap  of  spring."  But,  sir,  it  is  in  the 
season  when  "  winter  holds  her  undisputed  reign,"  that  the  feel- 
ings I  am  endeavoring  to  describe,  return  upon  me  most  forcibly. 
I  have  no  difficulty,  Mr.  President,  in  accounting  for  that  strong 
attachment  which  the  Laplander  is  said  to  manifest  for  his  coun- 
try, although  it  has  apparently  nothing  to  recommend  it  but  its 
fields  of  ice  and  mountains  of  snow.     For  who  that  was  born  and 


THE   DINNER.  169 

bred  upon  the  mountains,  can  efface  from  his  memory,  or  would 
do  so  were  it  possible,  the  impressions  of  awe  and  sublimity 
produced  by  witnessing  the  progress  or  listening  to  the  raving 
snow  storms  of  winter  1  Hence  it  is,  that  in  a  winter's  night, 
when  the  tempest  which  sweeps  with  wild  fury  over  the  western 
mountains,  descends  upon  our  valley  with  mitigated  violence, 
my  thoughts  w^ander  up  those  mountains  "  to  the  scenes  and  the 
home  of  my  childhood."  Then  follow  the  reminiscences  of  the 
first  twenty  years  of  my  existence,  with  tlie  vivid  impressions  of 
"  time,  place  and  circumstance."  These,  clustering  thick  and  fast 
upon  the  memory,  invariably  excite  the  desire,  that  as  life  there 
commenced,  there  too  should  be  the  scene  of  its  termination. 

But  I  will  pursue  this  train  of  thought  no  further,  as  it  may  not 
meet  the  slightest  response  from  any  other  heart.  Yet  I  fancy, 
that  when  my  younger  friends,  now  eager  in  the  pursuit  of  the 
glittering  objects  before  them,  shall  in  a  few  years  more  relinquish 
the  chase  as  hopeless  or  vain,  or  having  grasped  the  objects  de- 
sired, find  them  but  ashes  or  bubbles,  and  when  their  thoughts  shall 
be  turned  into  the  channel  of  retrospection,  they  may  then  find, 
springing  up  in  their  own  bosoms,  feelings  similar  to  those  I  have 
attempted  to  delineate. 

In  conclusion,  may  I  venture  to  give  a  word  of  advice  to  our 
friends  who  are  permanent  residents  in  the  County? 

My  friends,  be  happy  and  contented  xohcre  you  are,  and  not  se- 
ver the  connection  with  your  native  or  adopted  County,  without 
strong  and  imperative  necessity  for  the  act.  Dream  not  of  remov- 
ing to  the  west,  or  to  any  other  point  of  the  compass,  nor  listen 
for  a  moment  to  those  occasional  whisperings  of  avarice,  that  by 
disposing  of  your  possessions  here,  and  purchasing  lands  in  the 
new  states  or  territories,  you  will  promote  the  interests  of  your 
chihh'en. 

In  regard  to  the  great  responsibilities  resting  upon  you,  as  per- 
manent citizens  of  the  County,  nothing  need  be  said,  as  the  present 
and  ihe  past  give  reasonable  assurance  for  the/i/^j/rc.  The  moral 
influence  of  your  example  we  doubt  not  will  so  tell  upon  the  pre- 
sent, and  indirectly  upon  succeeding  generations,  that  when  our 
descendants,  soon  to  be  scattered  over  this  vast  country,  shall  here- 
after visit  these  pleasant  vallics,  and  the  no  less  delightful  hills 
and  mountains  of  Berkshire,  they  may  be  welcomed  then,  as  we 
are  noic,  by  an  intelligent,  moral  and  happy  community. 


170  BEKKSHIRK    JUUILEE. 

Sentiment  by  C.  B.  Cjold,  of  Buffalo — 

A  kind  remembrance  of  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Berkshire, 
providcjiliully  detained  from  our  Jubilee. 

Sentiment  by  Reuel  Smith,  of  New-York — 

Old  Berkshire — With  her  green  hills  and  smiling  vallies — 
Distinguished  alike  for  her  free  and  liberal  institutions,  her  intel- 
ligent, free  and  independent  citizens — Her  Pilgrim  Sons  have 
abundant  cause  to  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed. 

Theodore  Sedgwick,  Esq.,  of  New- York,  was  called  on  by  the 
President,  and  rose  in  his  place,  but  numerous  and  urgent  calls 
brought  him  to  the  table  in  the  centre. 

This,  for  a  free  country,  (said  he,)  is  w^hat  I  call  rather  despotic, 
not  only  to  insist  that  a  man  shall  talk,  but  to  assign  even  the 
place  which  he  shall  occupy.  I  had  really  hoped,  where  there 
are  so  many  refulgent  luminaries,  to  be  permitted  to  twinkle  in  ob- 
scurity; but  although  I  had  not  very  well  considered  the  subject, 
a  man  must  have  in  his  bosom,  not  a  heart,  but  an  iceberg,  if  he 
finds  nothing  to  utter  on  an  occasion  like  this.  This  seems  very 
much  more  than  a  Berkshire  Jubilee  — great  as  it  would  be  in  that 
respect.  This  body  of  men  are  but  a  delegation  of  that  vast  fami- 
ly which  New  England  has  sent  forth  to  people  the  west,  em- 
blematic of  that  more  than  royal  progress  which  the  sons  of  New 
England  are  making  now  towards  the  Pacific.  These  representa- 
tives here  of  other  lands,  of  other  portions  of  our  country  —  we 
might  call  on  them  to  tell  how  they  have  fulfilled  the  trust  re- 
posed in  them  —  whether  they  have  preserved  those  great  princi- 
ples of  order,  law,  and  civilization  which  came  in  the  sacred  cas- 
ket of  the  May  Flower.  Mr.  President,  you  no  doubt  are  as  firm 
a  foe  to  any  hereditary  privileges,  as  I  can  be.  You,  no  doubt, 
agree  with  the  poet,  when  he  says, 

"  Trust  me,  Clara  Vere  de  Vere, 

From  yon  blue  heaven  above  us  bent, 
The  gardener  Adam,  and  his  wife. 
Smile  at  the  claims  of  long  descent." 

But,  no  doubt,  you  are  enough  of  a  farmer  to  believe  in  the 
value  of  stock  —  in  the  value  of  breed,  and  you  are  no  true  son  of 


THE    DINNER.  171 

Massachusetts,  if  you  do  not  prize  as  you  ought  the  breed  to  which 
you  belong.     I  am  not  a  son  of  this  County.     Dear  as  my  attach- 
ment to  it  is,  happy  and  proud  as  I  am  always  among  those  who 
are  so  well    called  "  The  mountain  men  of  Berkshire,"  by  what 
Lord  Thurlow  calls  "  the  accident  of  an  accident,"  I  was  bora 
among  the  Knickerbockers  —  at  that  great  city  rising  with  so  much 
rapidity  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson.     I  hope  then  to  be  allowed, 
(and  under  these  circumstances  I  hope  to  have  the  credit  of  im- 
partiality,) to  say  a  very  few  words  concerning  what  this  Country 
owes  to  Massachusetts,  and  to  her  Capital.     Here,  standing  upon 
this  soil,  among  a  people  happy,  more  happy  perchance  than  them- 
selves are  aware,  in  that  blessed  equality  upon  which  all  our  insti- 
tutions rest  —  here,  the  idea  of  a  Republic  is  safe,  guarded  by  re- 
ligion, by  law,   and  by  that  same  equality.     While,  sir,  the  people 
of  New  England  remain,   while  their  institutions  last,  our  liberty 
and  our  Union  are  as  firm  as  Saddle  Mountain.     And  how  much 
do  we  all  owe  to  that  great  Capital  at  the  end  of  the  State,  which 
seems  in  some  extraordinary  manner  to  have  preserved  the  purity 
of  country  morals;  whose  merchants,  far  above  the  merchant  prin- 
ces, not  only  support  their  own  institutions  with  unrivalled  mag- 
nificence, but  lend  their  money  with  a  gallantry  belonging  to  ano- 
ther profession,  to  other  enterprises.     This  rail-road,  of  which  you 
have  just  heard  the  w^histle,  and  which,  in  the  vastness  of  the  na- 
tural impediments  surmounted,  is  superior  to    any  of  the  similar 
works  of  New  England  — this  rail-road,  owes  its  existence  to  the 
gallant  liberality  of  the  merchants  of  Boston.     That  little  city, 
third  or  fourth  in  size,  possesses  institutions  which  stand  with- 
out  a   rival    in   the    country.     After  a  further    reference  to  the 
enterprise,  and  to  the  intellectual  and  moral  advancement  of  the 
citizens  of  Boston,  Mr.  Sedgwick  remarked,  that  he  was  aware  he 
had  spoken  of  New  England  in  somewhat  a  peculiar  position,  he 
knew  he  was  before  the  eyes,  almost  under  the  eye,  he  might 
say,  of  one  of  the  most  intelligent  sons  of  Old  England,  (Mr. 
Macready.)     He  had  also  in  his  eye  a  formidable  Dutchman,  (Mr. 
Colden,)  in  W'hose  bosom  he  somewhat  feared  there  mii^lit  ht-  some 
rankling  at  the  praises  he  had  attempted  to  bestow  upon  New 
Eno-land.     He  was  aware  that  he  hatl  btcn  so  inadequate  in  the 
treatment  of  his  theme,  that  his  audience  wo  Jd  need  to  cxri:se 
him,  and  he  therefore  gave: 

V 


172  nERKSIIIRE   JUBILEE. 

The  stock  of  New  England — It  is  the  stock  of  Old  England, 
their  virtue,  their  intelligence,  with  equality  added. 

The  President  remarked  that  as  this  family  intended  fair  play, 
and  as  the  gentleman  who  had  last  spoken  had  alluded  to  the  gen- 
tleman from  Old  England,  (Mr.  Macready,)  they  would  be  glad  to 
hear  from  him  in  his  ow'n  defence. 

Mr.  Macready  then  came  forward  and  took  his  place  upon  the 
stand,  and  spoke  as  follows: 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  —  I  could  almost  say  brothers, 
though  not  of  Berkshire — for  I  can  assure  you  the  heart  of  an  Eng- 
lishman —  of  those  who  carry  w^ith  them  intelligence  and  proper 
feelings,  beats  as  warmly  towards  their  kindred,  towards  this  coun- 
try, and  towards  its  institutions,  as  the  best  American  could  possi- 
bly desire.  I  am  taken  wholly  unawares.  The  delight  I  have 
felt  in  all  I  have  seen  in  making,  I  may  say,  the  circuit  of  your 
beautiful  and  great  country,  has  brought  me  here  to  see  at  a  social 
meeting,  that  spirit  carried  out  which  I  have  viewed  through  your 
institutions,  forensic  and  commercial.  I  really  cannot  pretend  to 
make  a  speech  to  you.  I  wall  only  in  reference  to  the  feelings  of 
brotherhood,  which,  believe  me,  exist  in  the  bosoms  of  English- 
men, (and  I  would  that  I  had  the  poAver  of  eloquence  to  dispos- 
sess from  those  minds  who  doubt  it,  the  idea  of  anything  hostile 
existing  in  England  towards  the  prospe'rity  and  growth  of  this  coun- 
try,) if  you  will  allow  me,  recite  in  place  of  the  few  unconnect- 
ed, and  perhaps  almost  unintelligible  words  I  might  utter,  a  very 
short  poem  which  will  express  to  you  what  I  myself  feel  in  com- 
mon with  so  many  of  my  own  countrymen.  It  is  a  little  fable, 
and  though  of  Eastern,  of  Arabian  origin,  it  speaks  to  the  hearts 
of  many  —  I  hope  of  all — 

Abon  Bed  Adhem,  (may  his  tribe  increase!) 
Awoke  one  night  from  a  deep  dream  of  peace. 
And  saw,  within  the  moonlight  in  his  room, 
Making  it  rich  and  like  a  lily  in  bloom. 
An  Angel  writing  in  a  book  of  gold. 
Exceeding  peace  had  made  Ben  Adhem  bold, 
And  to  the  presence  in  the  room  he  said, 
"  What  writest  thou  1"     The  vision  raised  his  head, 


THE    DINNER.  173 

And  in  a  voice  made  all  of  sweet  accord, 

Answered,  "  The  names  of  those  who  love  the  Lord!'' 

"  And  is  mine  one  V  said  Ben  Adhem.     "  Nay,  not  so," 

Replied  the  Angel.     Abon  spoke  more  low. 

But  cheerly  still;  "I  pray  thee,  then, 

Write  me  as  one  who  loves  his  fellow  men." 

The  Angel  rose  and  vanished.     The  next  night 

He  came  again,  with  a  great  wakening  light. 

And  showed  the  names  whom  love  of  God  had  blest; 

And  lo!  Ben  Adhem's  name  led  all  the  rest!* 

Mr.  CoLDEN,  of  New- York,  being  next  called  upon  by  the  Pre- 
sident, expressed  the  happiness  with  which  he  should  respond  to 
the  appeal  that  had  been  made  by  his  friend,  (Mr.  Sedgwick,)  but 
asked  to  be  excused  on  account  of  a  hoarseness,  which  he  said 
rendered  it  impossible  to  do  justice  to  his  own  feelings,  or  to  the 
occasion.  If,  however,  he  might  be  permitted  to  express  one  sen- 
timent before  he  sat  down,  it  would  be:  The  patrimony  which  you 
are  now  in  possession  of,  is  one  W'hich  I,  as  a  descendant  of  the 
Dutch,  believe  I  have  a  rightful  claim  to.  I  hope  and  I  trust, 
from  what  I  have  for  these  two  days  seen,  from  what  I  have  seen 
before,  and  from  what  I  feel,  from  what  my  friend  on  my  right 
has  felt,  and  from  what  every  witness  of  this  brilliant,  this  soul- 
cheering  spectacle  must  feel —  that  it  is  impossible  that  the  patri- 
mony of  the  Dutch  can  degenerate  in  the  hands  of  the  Berkshire 
breed. 

Without  attempting  any  farther  expression  of  my  feelings,  I 
give  you  the  toast  which  I  received  this  morning  from  a  gentle- 
man in  Stockbridge,  and  which  I  was  deputed  to  deliver  to  this 
meeting — 

The  banks  and  braes  and  bonny  Briggs  of  Berkshire. 

•  The  Committee  have  received  divers  hints  and  criticisms  as  to  the  Theology  of 
this  beautiful  piece  of  poetry,  as  well  as  a  multitude  of  good  advice  in  relation  to 
what  should  or  should  not  be  inserted  in  this  buok.  As  to  the  objection— that  thii 
fable  makes  the  love  of  men  of  as  much  value  as  love  to  the  Supreme  (Joil,— we  feel 
its  full  force;  and  while  we  would  not,  of  course,  send  men  to  Leigh  Hunt  to  uludy 
Theology,  yet  surely  we  may  admire  what  is  beautiful,  and  not  rontrart  Hrrkshire 
hospitality  by  excluding  that  which  made  a  real  and  an  admired  part  of  the  occasion. 
Then  as  to  the  matter  inserted  or  excluded  from  this  wi>rk,  few  can  have  any  idea  of 
the  difficulties  attending  the  compilation.  They  have  only  to  say,  that  all  Uiings  con- 
sidered, they  have  done  the  best  they  coulil,  and  if  their  readers  do  not  admire  Uicir 
judgment,  it  is  hoped  they  will  their  decision. 


l74  BEHKSIIIKE    JUBILEE. 

Sentiment  by  Dr.  Goodrich,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. — 

Old  }3ekksiiire — Our  honored  Mother;  while  she  welcomes 
us,  we  will  embrace  her;  while  she  cherishes,  we  will  love  her; 
and  this  day's  welcome  and  this  day's  joyousness,  shall  but  rivet 
the  chain  that  binds  us  to  her  forever. 

Sentiment  by  President  Humphrey,  of  Amherst  College — 

Berkshire — A  good  County  to  go  from;  but  a  better  one  to 
return  to. 

Sentiment  by  Josiaii  Quincy,  Esq.,  of  New  Hampshire — 

The  Children  of  Berkshire  resident  in  the  Granite  State, 
TO  the  home  and  friends  of  their  early  days — From  the  stern- 
ness and  sublimity  of  their  mountain  fastnesses,  they  turn  with 
new  delight  to  the  softer  scenery  and  more  fertile  vallies  of  their 
birth  place,  thank  God  for  its  faithful  hearts,  and  pray  that  its 
household  fires  may  burn  on  brightly  forever. 

David  D.  Field,  Esq.,  of  New-York,  w^as  called  upon  and 
addressed  the  meeting. 

Mr.  President  and  Friends  —  I  did  not  come  here,  I  assure 
you,  expecting  to  be  called  upon  to  make  a  speech,  and  I  am 
not  prepared  to  make  a  speech.  I  can  only  say  to  you  a  few 
words  from  the  fulness  of  my  heart.  When  we  came  here  this 
morning  —  indeed  W'hen  we  arrived  yesterday,  I  believe  all  felt 
that  if  it  rained  it  would  be  a  great  misfortune  —  that  a  cloudy 
day  would  not  do  for  the  Berkshire  Jubilee.  Well,  it  came  with 
clouds,  but  there  was  not  a  cloud  upon  our  hearts:  it  has  all  been 
sunshine  there.  We  have  been  into  it,  and  now  that  you  have 
been  greeted  by  Berkshire,  the  sky  has  cleared  away,  and  the  sun 
has  come  out  upon  the  old  hills  as  bright  as  you  ever  saw  it  in 
your  boyhood.  Can  you  ask  for  more?  Why  should  we  be 
afraid  of  clouds  ?  Do  we  not  know  —  those  of  us  who  were  edu- 
cated here,  how  often  we  have  trudged  to  school  and  from  school 
through  storm,  and  wind,  and  sleet,  and  snow.  Well,  we  went 
on,  and  did  not  regard  it;  we  got  home,  and  found  a  cheerful  fire- 
side; we  found  the  next  day  bright,  and  went  on  our  way  rejoic- 


THE    DINNER.  »  175 

ing.  So  it  has  been  with  us  here,  and  so,  I  trust,  it  will  always 
be.  :  Those  clouds  have  gone;  those  of  you  who  are  from  a  dis- 
tance, and  who  have  not  yet  seen  your  old  County,  will  see  it 
soon  in  its  freshest  and  most  gorgeous  beauties.  The  clouds  are 
rising  from  the  valley,  and  before  the  morrow  they  will  pass  from 
the  mountain,  and  you  will  see  those  mountain  tops  in  all  their  old 
beauty,  as  they  greeted  you  in  your  early  days.  My  friends,  look 
about  you,  see  what  you  have  —  what  you  have  come  to  enjoy. 
How  much  is  there  changed!  The  great  features  of  nature  arc 
here  so  much  more  enduring  than  any  thing  man  can  make,  that 
notwithstanding  man  has  been  at  work  here  for  a  hundred  years, 
nature  remains  the  same,  and  the  great  features  of  the  County  are 
not  changed.  If  the  old  missionary  who  came  first  into  this  val- 
ley, one  hundred  and  seventeen  years  ago,  could  now  look  into  it, 
he  would  know  the  spot  from  the  old  landmarks  wITuli  nature  has 
made,  and  which  man  cannot  obliterate. 

As  I  have  before  remarked,  I  desire  to  present  you  with  a  sen- 
timent, and  a  sentiment  to  which  I  beg  leave  to  make  a  few  pre- 
paratory remarks.  I  have  often  thought  it  was  a  peculiar  privi- 
lege of  those  who  had  gone  from  Berkshire,  to  have  gone  young 
men.  It  has  so  happened  —  happened  from  the  features  of  the 
County,  from  our  own  position,  that  most  of  us  who  emigrated 
from  this  County,  went  away  in  early  manhood.  This  I  conceive 
to  have  been  a  great  advantage.  I  conceive  it  gives  us  not  only 
familiarity  with  this  most  excellent  scenery,  but  it  gives  us  the 
impression  which  we  could  not  have  got  in  many  other  parts  of 
the  country,  of  the  sort  of  society  which  is  peculiarly  the  product 
of  American  institutions.  If  I  were  to  point  out  to  a  foreigner 
any  where  in  this  country,  an  example  of  a  community  whose  so- 
cial law  and  beauty  were  what  I  should  say  should  be  the  produc- 
tion of  American  institutions,  I  should  point  out  the  County  of 
Berkshire.  It  is  around  us  —  it  is  at  our  feet  —  it  is  the  spectacle  of 
that  social  equality  without  rudeness,  accompanied  by  refinement 
such  as  I  apprehend  few  parts  of  this  country  can  show. 

Fellow-citizens  —  young  men  living  in  such  a  community,  with 
such  influences  of  scenery  and  of  social  law  —  can  it  be  otherwise 
than  that  all  of  us  should  have  gone  away,  deeply  impressed  with 
the  scenes  which  we  have  left,  anil  that  we  should  carry  them 
with  us  as  long  as  our  hearts  continue  to  beat  ?     Yes,  you  may 


176  UERKSIIIllE   JUBILEE. 

take  the  pnilllinp  l)ny  in  the  earliest  years  of  his  life  —  take  him 
from  your  iiiountains  ami  semi  him  where  you  please,  send  him  to 
the  sunny  south,  send  him  to  the  farthest  mountain,  to  the  circle 
of  civilization,  plant  him  in  the  most  remote  island,  and  I  will 
undertake  to  say,  that  ever,  so  long  as  he  lives,  will  he  cherish 
among  the  first  recollections  of  his  heart,  what  he  remembers  of 
his  natal  soil,  and  the  circumstances  of  his  boyhood.  Yes  :  and  if 
nature  retains  her  own,  be  will  totter  to  his  grave  with  the  recol- 
lection fastened  upon  him  of  what  he  has  seen  and  known  here  — 
and  if  ever  there  come  more  serious  moments  over  him,  he  will 
recollect 

" the  old  mansion,  and  the  accustomed  hall. 


And  the  remembered  chambers,  and  the  place. 
The  day,  the  hour,  the  sunshine,  and  the  shade, 
All  things  pertaining  to  that  place,  and  hour," 

and  he  will  go  down  to  the  grave  with  little  upon  his  heart  so 
deeply  engraved  as  the  recollection  of  his  early  life  in  the  valley 
of  the  Housatonic. 

My  friends,  I  have  said  already  more  than  I  intended,  and  there- 
fore I  wall  sit  down  with  offering  you  my  sentiment,  only  observ- 
ing that  we  come  back — those  of  us  who  have  gone  out  in  exile, 
to  look  upon  that  which  our  eyes  behold,  and  which  many  of  us 
thought  we  should  never  behold  ao;ain  —  we  come  back  with  feel- 
ings  partly  of  joy,  and  partly  of  sorrow^,  for  there  are  sad  recol- 
lections as  well  as  joyous  ones.  The  air,  methinks,  w^hispers  the 
voice  of  our  kindred,  and  their  spirit  seems  to  beam  upon  us  in 
the  holy  light  of  these  hills.  My  friends,  I  offer  you  this  senti- 
ment— 

The  Children  of  Berkshire — They  have  only  to  be  steadfast 
in  the  principles  into  which  they  were  born.     (Cheers.) 

Professor  Dewey,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
I  rise,  Mr.  President,  as  a  son  of  Berkshire,  a  descendant  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  the  County.  I  have  been  imbued  from  my  ear- 
liest days  with  the  principles  of  our  Puritan  ancestors.  I  was 
taught  to  honor  by  my  works,  our  lineage.  When  the  children 
of  the  family,  with  which  it  is  my  honor  to  have  become  connected, 
heard  the  call  for  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Berkshire,  to  return 


THE    DINXER.  177 

and  keep  with  you  the  Jubilee,  they  began  by  their  action  to  prove 
that  they  still  love  the  scenes  of  their  earlier  days,  these  moun- 
tains and  vallies;  and  these  ten  children,  with  their  parents,  have 
met  on  this  Jubilee,  and  with  their  huslnrnds  and  wives,  to  greet 
you  to-day. 

Of  those  who  have  gone  out  from  your  County,  Mr.  President, 
there  are  two  classes.  The  first  emigrated  in  their  childhood  or 
youth,  and  have  made  their  homes  in  other  lands.  They  come 
back  to  enjoy  the  luxuriance  of  your  County  in  the  homes  of  their 
fathers;  but,  if  it  is  natural  for  men  to  be  attached  to  their  homes^ 
as  has  been  so  often  asserted,  their  attachments  are  in  other  val- 
lies, beside  other  streams,  and  amid  other  scenery.  They  return 
to  rejoice  with  you  on  this  occasion,  but  with  very  different  feel- 
ings from  those  who  emigrated  in  the  middle  of  life.  These  form 
the  second  class;  and  while  they  may  have  found  themselves  hap- 
pily surrounded  with  new  friends,  they  look  on  these  hills  and 
vallies  as  their  home^  and  as  having  become  in  their  eyes  more 
beautiful  than  ever  before.  Here  they  were  educated  to  the  admi- 
ration of  this  mountain  scenery;  here  their  tastes  and  views  were 
formed.  As  they  have  seen  some  slow  meandering  stream  making 
its  dull  way  along  the  plain,  they  have  said,  as  I  heard  a  true 
daughter  of  Berkshire  far  in  the  west  say,  as  she  looked  on  sudi  a 
rivulet,  and  thought  of  her  home  in  these  hills,  this  is  not  the 
streamlet,  such  are  not  the  stones  and  pebbles  of  JWw  England. 
Yes,  sir,  these  emigrants  love  their  old  home  more  than  ever,  and 
some  of  them  perhaps  hope  to  return  under  some  fortunate  change 
of  circumstances,  and  place  themselves  again  in  this  land  of  their 
nativity.  Is  it  true  that  it  is  natural  for  men  to  love  their  homes? 
and  is  this  the  case  with  the  men  of  England,  of  France,  of  Switz- 
erland, and  even  of  Lapland?  There  is  something  besides  scenery 
and  place,  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  this  love.  It  is  not  tlie 
place  of  our  birth,  its  mountains,  rivers,  external  scenery.  Much 
as  I  have  loved,  and  still  love,  all  these  scenes,  so  splendidly  pre- 
sented before  us,  I  ask,  sir,  is  it  these  that  have  made  New  Eng- 
land what  she  is  —  that  have  made  Berkshire  what  she  is  —  that 
have  spread  over  the  land  such  a  noble  people  ?  Go  to  the  Ply- 
mouth Rock  and  look  at  those  Pilgrim  Fathers:  did  they  not  bring 
in  the  May  Flower  all  that  has  ennobled  our  land,  before  they  had 
seen  these  hills  and  vallies  —  those  elements,  which  have  made 


178  BERKSHIRE  JUBILEE. 

our  fathers  and  mothers,  daui^littrs  and  sons,  wives  and  hnshands, 
the  glory  of  our  land?  The  physical  system  may  be  hardened  and 
strenfjrthened  by  the  influence  of  scenery  and  climate,  but  there 
must  be  a  mightier  power,  a  more  potent  principle  to  operate,  or 
you  can  never  make  7ne«,  never  can  make  JVeio  England  men^  can 
never  make  such  sons  and  daughters  as  are  the  glory  of  Berkshire. 
But  give  to  a  man  the  elements  of  knowledge  of  himself — let 
him  know  that  he  has  a  mind  and  heart  and  soul  —  that  he  has 
been  created  to  equal  rights  and  privileges  with  his  fellows;  let 
him  know  and  feel  his  responsibility  to  God  and  man  —  instil  in- 
to him  moral  and  civil  and  religious  principles  —  and  you  have 
the  elements  of  freedom  and  greatness.  These  elements,  if  they 
can  find  room  to  expand,  will  ennoble  man  everywhere. 

What  mountain  scenery  made  Franklin  what  he  was  ?  or  made 
Washington  the  "  Father  of  his  country  1"  What  mountain  air 
inspired  the  spirit  of  Patrick  Henry  1  Passing  still  farther  to  the 
sunny  south,  the  Marions,  the  Sumpters,  and  the  thousand  names 
dear  and  glorious,  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  New  England  in  their 
day,  not  originated  by  mountains  and  lakes  and  streams,  but  based 
on  principles  purer  and  more  glorious.  These  it  is,  that  distin- 
guished New  England  —  that  distinguished  the  Sons  of  this  Coun- 
ty, and  these  are  the  elements  which  are  to  be  preserved  and  ex- 
panded and  extended,  till  they  shall  have  free  course  over  the 
land  and  the  world.  While  politicians  foretell  disunion  and 
change  of  government,  and  all  the  consequences  they  delight  to 
portray  when  their  own  party  shall  not  be  predominant  in  the 
land;  my  common  sense  enquires,  what  other  government  than  that 
of  freemen  could  exist  in  New  England,  and  probably  over  our 
land  1  We  must  be  republicans.  Possessed  of  equal  rights  as  we 
are,  we  can  be  no  other;  and  more  mighty  must  be  that  scourge  of 
God  which  must  pass  over  our  land,  than  has  ever  swept  over  any 
people,  before  any  other  government — before  any  other  principles 
than  those  in  which  we  have  been  cradled,  which  we  celebrate  to- 
day, and  which  are  our  glory,  can  prevail  among  us.  Washing- 
ton !  he  could  not  but  have  been  a  patriot,  when  he  had  once  en- 
tered on  the  career  of  liberty.  The  glitter  of  a  crown  must  have 
been  spurned.  The  country  was  too  full  of  noble  spirits.  Could 
he  have  removed  those  around  him,  the  whole  country,  hill  and 


THE   DINNER.  179 

dale,  would  have  teemed  with  myriads  more.     The  principles  of 
our  Puritan  Fathers  had  become  the  life-blood  of  the  land. 

It  is  one  of  the  early  and  late  corruptions  of  our  religion,  Mr. 
President,  to  maintain  that  man  is  man  only  by  divine  right;  that 
it  is  the  jus  divinum  that  makes  kings  and  nobility,  and  fastens 
upon  the  necks  of  the  people  the  yoke  which  presses  upon  them. 
Now  the  great  principle  which  we  have  been  carrying  out  in  all 
our  free  institutions  is,  that  ihe^  jus  divinum  makes  every  man  by 
nature  a  freeman,  and  endows  him  with  the  inalienable  rights  of 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  Let  this  divine  right 
be  maintained  and  extended,  and  the  glory  wiiich  rests  upon  us 
will  roll  onward,  westward  and  eastward,  northward  and  south- 
ward, over  our  world,  and  the  world  will  be  blest.  Long  before 
another  .Jubilee  shall  come,  I  shall  have  passed  to  the  grave;  and 
the  desire  of  my  heart,  which  I  now  leave  with  you,  is,  that  of 
the  thousands  which  greet  us  to-day,  each  one  may  find  himself, 
as  God  calls  him  from  these  loved  scenes,  passing  away  to  a  home 
in  a  brighter  and  better  world. 

A  song  was  here  sung  by  several  young  men,  with  preat  power 
and  appropriate  expression — 

Far  away,  o'er  the  mountains, 
Far  away,  o'er  the  mountains, 
Far  away,  o'er  the  mountains. 

From  our  own  pleasant  home; 
Drawn  by  ties  which  never 
Aught  on  earth  can  sever. 
Binding  closer  ever. 

To  old  Berkshire  we  have  come. 

Long  time  ago  we  parted, 
In  life  we  had  just  started. 
Young,  strong,  and  ruddy-hearted, 

From  our  old  Berkshire  home; 
Every  one  a  brother, 
Son's  of  one  kind  mother, 
Ne'er  was  such  another. 

Now  to  greet  her  we  have  come. 

W 


180  HKKKSIIIRE   JUBILEE. 

Aye  true  to  our  relation, 
Tlirough  tlie  whole  of  the  nation, 
We've  follow'd  our  vocation, 

And  we  now  homeward  come; 
Over  lands  and  oceans, 
Pedling  Yankee  notions, 
Morals,  law,  and  lotions, 

Of  our  ancient  Berkshire  home. 

Oft  fortune  was  untoward. 

Oft  darkest  storms  have  lowered, 

But  we  have  never  cowered, 

True  sons  of  Berkshire  home; 
Evil  ever  chiding. 
Over  trouble  striding, 
By  our  faith  abiding. 

Welcome  us,  as  back  we  come. 

Then  earnest  be  our  greeting! 
Then  pleasant  be  our  meeting! 
For  though  old  time  is  fleeting, 

And  distant  we  must  roam; 
For  all  stormy  weather. 
Courage  we  must  gather. 
Since  we  are  together. 

In  our  ancient  Berkshire  home. 

Now  three  cheers  altogether. 
Shout  Berkshire's  children  ever, 
Yankee  hearts  none  can  sever. 

In  old  "Massachusetts  Bay;" 
Like  our  sires  before  us. 
We  will  swell  the  chorus. 
Till  the  Heavens  o'er  us 
Shall  rebound  the  loud  huzza. 

Hurrah,  hurrah,  hurrah. 

The  President  next  read  the  following  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
Dr.  Channing,  by  a  lady  of  Berkshire  : 

It  is  a  circumstance  in  the  history  of  Berkshire,  which  should 


THE   DINNER.  I8l 

not  be  forgotten  on  this  occasion,  that  one  of  the  best  and  greatest 
men  our  country  has  produced,  spent  the  last  months  of  his  life 
here,  and  that  he  delivered  to  a  Berkshire  audience  his  last  public 
address.  Our  climate  and  our  beautiful  scenery  contributed  great- 
ly to  his  health,  and  to  his  enjoyment.  He  loved  our  hills  and 
vallies,  our  streams  and  lakes.  Their  beauty  gladdened  his 
soul,  and  helped  to  swell  the  anthem  which  it  sent  up  perpetually 
to  the  Creator,  not  altogether  in  secret,  for  its  music  was  written 
on  his  countenance.  He  rejoiced  greatly  in  the  thrift,  the  well- 
being,  moral  and  physical,  of  our  people.  To  him  every  man 
was  a  indeed  a  brother,  and  to  Berkshire  men  and  Berkshire  wo- 
men, he  had  that  nearer  feeling  which  residence  gives  toward  a 
people  among  whom  one's  lot  is  cast  even  for  a  short  period.  It 
was  his  own  proposal  to  deliver  an  address  in  Lenox,  upon  the 
first  of  August,  1842.  He  thought  it  fitting  to  commemorate  that 
anniversary,  and  he  believed  that  the  voice  of  rejoicing  over  the 
proclamation  of  freedom  to  the  captive,  would  find  an  echo  among 
our  hills.  No  one  who  heard  him  will  forget  that  day,  that  bright 
clear  day,  and  the  pleasant  assembling  together  of  a  people  who 
appreciated  the  occasion  and  the  man;  whose  eyes  were  fastened 
with  delight  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  a  long  discourse, 
upon  that  countenance  so  full  of  the  inspiration  of  faith,  hope  and 
charity;  whose  ears  drank  in  every  tone  of  that  voice,  uttering 
what  proved  to  be  its  death-song,  in  strains  as  earnest,  eloquent 
and  touching,  as  if  he  had  known  it  to  be  his  last.  "  It  is  finish- 
ed," might  aptly  have  been  its  concluding  words;  it  was  the  last 
beautiful  act  of  a  most  beautiful  and  useful  public  life  —  and  the 
last  utterance  of  all,  was  an  invocation  for  the  coming  of  that 
kingdom,  the  spread  of  which  the  speaker  had  so  faithfully  labored 
to  promote. 

There  is  one  passage  in  that  discourse,  which  the  pcoj)le  of 
Berkshire  should  often  recal.  It  is  as  follows:  "  Men  of  Berk- 
shire! whose  nerves  and  souls  the  mountain  air  has  braced,  you 
surely  will  respond  to  him  who  speaks  of  the  blessings  of  freedom, 
and  the  misery  of  bondage.  I  feel  as  if  the  feeble  voice  which 
now  addresses  you,  must  find  an  echo  in  these  forest-crowned 
heights.  Do  they  not  impart  somethiiisr  of  their  own  power  and 
loftiness  to  men's  souls?  Should  our  Commonwealth  ever  be  in- 
vaded by  victorious  armies.  Freedom's  last  asylum  would  be  here. 


18i^  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

Hrrc  msiy  a  free  spirit,  may  reverence  for  all  human  rights,  may 
sympathy  for  all  the  oppressed,  may  a  stern,  solemn  purpose,  to 
give  no  sanction  to  oppression,  take  stronger  and  stronger  posses- 
sion of  men's  minds,  and  from  these  mountains  may  generous  im- 
pulses spread  far  and  wide'.-'  God  grant  that  this  appeal,  made 
by  a  voice  now  hushed  in  death,  may  meet  a  perpetual  response  in 
the  hearts  of  our  people,  from  generation  to  generation,  while 
time  shall  endure!  May  they  not  be  satisfied  with  the  distinction 
of  being  natives  of  Berkshire,  but  strive  in  whatever  clime,  under 
whatever  circumstances  they  may  be  placed,  to  wear  always  the 
Berkshire  badge  —  Industry,  Uprightness,  Humanity. 

Allow  me,  Mr.  President,  to  propose  the  following  sentiment — 

The  Memory  of  Dr.  Channing — May  the  Sons  of  Berkshire 
never  be  found  wanting,  when  weighed  in  the  balance  which  he 
so  trustingly  held  up  for  them. 

Sentiment  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Brigham,  D.D.,  of  New- York — 

In  this  County,  I  am  happy  to  say,  I  was  born,  and  here  receiv- 
ed my  collegiate  education.  Since  entering  professional  life,  cir- 
cumstances have  led  me  to  visit  in  person  all  the  States  of  our  Union, 
with  two  exceptions,  as  well  as  the  several  Spanish  Republics,  and 
three  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  old  world.  Wherever  I  hare  gone 
it  has  been  my  aim  to  enquire  as  to  the  comforts,  habits,  intelli- 
gence, morals,  temporal  and  future  prospects  of  my  fellow  men. 
As  a  commentary  on  the  whole,  I  am  prepared  to  offer  with  great 
sincerity,  the  following  sentiment — 

Berkshire  of  the  Bay  State — Take  it  all  in  all,  there  is  no 
better  place  in  which  to  be  born,  to  live,  and  to  die. 

Sentiment  by  Hon.  Timothy  Guilds,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y. — 

Mr.  President — I  do  not  rise  to  discharge  the  duty  assigned  to 
me  in  the  order  of  exercises;  the  day  is  too  far  spent,  there  are  too 
many  here  who  desire  to  relieve^  by  a  few  words,  their  full  hearts 
to  allow  me  to  do  more  than  to  give  a  sentiment.  This  meeting 
is  one  of  deep  interest;  it  cannot,  I  think,  but  be  one  of  lastino- 
good.  We  have  heard  recounted  the  deeds,  the  virtues,  the  suf- 
ferings of  our  Fathers,  we  have  looked  again  upon  the  scenery  of 


THE  DINKXR.  183 

our  native  homes,  we  have  revived  all  the  joyous  associations  of 
childhood  and  youth,  and  the  effect  must  be  good,  and  only  good. 
Whatever  of  virtuous  purpose  or  principle  may  have  attended  us 
in  our  emigration,  must  receive  new  vigor  from  the  events  of  this 
day.  We  all  feel  that  the  example  of  the  Fathers  of  Berkshire 
rests  upon  their  children,  with  the  solemnity  of  a  religious  obliga- 
tion; we  all  feel  at  this  moment  that  it  would  be  criminal  to  dis- 
honor their  history;  and  now  that  we  are  about  to  pronounce  the 
w^ords  of  parting,  and  turn  our  faces  to  our  distant  homes,  let  us 
carry  with  us,  deeply  engraved  on  our  minds,  this  sentiment — 

The  Emigrant  of  Berkshire — Wherever  may  be  his  lot,  or 
whatever  its  duties,  let  him  never  forget  that  he  cannot  be  de- 
linquent without  being  degenerate. 

Sentiment  by  Dr.  L.  A.  Smith  of  Newark,  N.  J. — 

Our  friends  who  are  not  wnth  us  on  this  occasion — 

"Absent  or  dead,  still  let  a  friend  be  dear  ; 
A  sigh  the  absent  claim,  the  dead  a  tear." 

Sentiment  to  the  memory  of  the  late  Dr.  Hyde,  of  Lee,  by  W. 
P.  Palmer — 

Saint!  in  thy  loss  we  learn  this  blessed  lore 

That  not  to  breathe,  is  not  to  be  no  morel 

Oh  no;  to  those  whose  days  like  thine  have  passed 

In  self  denying  kindness  to  the  last. 

Remains,  unfading  with  the  final  breath, 

A  green  and  sweet  vitality  in  death! 

Sentiment  by  Silas  Metcalf,  Esq.,  of  Kinderhook,  N.  Y. — 

"The  Yankees  and  the  Dutch  —  The  Western  Hail-road  has 
broken  down  the  distinction  of  caste, — the  commingling  of  blood 
cannot  fail  mutually  to  improve  the  stock." 

Sentiment  by  T.  Jov,  Esq.,  of  Albany — 

The  return  of  the  Sons  of  Berkshire — Though  under  cir- 
cumstances exactly  the  reverse  from  that  of  the  Prodigal  —  yet 
their  sires  killed  for  them  the  fatted  calf. 


184  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

Sentiment  by  D.  C.  Whitewood,  of  Michigan — 

The  ANNUAL  CROP  PRODUCED  IN  Old  BERKSHIRE  —  Philosophers, 
Orators,  Statesmen,  Merdiants,  Physicians,  and  Professors  —  may 
tlie  crop  increase  until  she  has  enough  for  her  own  consumption, 
and  a  large  surplus  for  export,  and  on  every  cargo  she  consigns 
to  the  ports  of  Michigan,  the  Woolvereens  will  pay  her  a  heavy 
export  bounty. 

Sentiment  by  the  Rev.  Joshua  N.  Danforth,  of  Alexandria, 
D.  C— 

We  stand  here  to-day,  numbering  forty  in  relationship  —  twen- 
ty-five of  us  the  direct  descendants  of  David  Noble,  of  Williams- 
town,  the  upright  judge  —  the  exemplary  christian.  His  name  and 
memory,  like  those  of  our  immediate  parents,  we  regard  as  a  sa- 
cred legacy,  by  which  w^e  are  enriched,  and  of  which  we  are  not 
ashamed.  If  the  spirit  which  dwelt  in  the  bosom  of  the  fathers, 
shall  be  transmitted  through  the  sons  to  our  posterity,  we,  like 
them,  shall  not  have  lived  and  died  in  vain. 

The  scenes  we  witness  to-day,  are  indeed  impressive.  Genius 
is  pouring  out  his  treasures  w'ith  a  generosity  suited  to  the  great 
occasion.  Poetry  is  weaving  her  most  beautiful  garland.  Friend- 
ship brings  her  costly  offerings  to  this  altar.  Even  History  has  a 
portion  in  the  reminiscences  of  this  auspicious  day.  The  Muses 
and  the  Graces  have  conspired  to  honor  the  occasion.  And  if  the 
joys  of  the  living  must  necessarily  be  mingled  with  those  sorrows 
which  affection  pays  to  the  dead,  the  depth  of  the  emotion  attests 
the  value  of  the  tribute.  Some  of  us  are  devoted  to  the  law: 
some  to  the  ministry  of  reconciliation:  all,  we  trust,  are  found  in 
some  sphere  of  activity  and  usefulness.  Some  are  in  the  far  west; 
others  in  the  far  east.  One  walks  on  missionary  ground,  dwell- 
ing in  an  Asiatic  clime,  and  consecrating  the  energies  of  her  heart 
and  life  to  that  Redeemer  who  has  loved  us  all,  and  given  himself 
for  us.  As  this  is  a  family  gathering,  something  may  be  pardoned 
to  a  family  feeling  in  the  mention  of  these  particulars.  If  I  may 
be  permitted  to  give  expression  to  my  feelings  in  the  form  of  a 
sentiment,  it  should  be — 

The  Home  of  our  fathers,  revisited  to-day  in  our  persons — our 
hearts  never  depart  from  it.     The  Graves  of  our  fathers  —  they 


THE    DINNER.  18o 

contain  our  richest  earthly  treasures.     The  Memory  of  our  fathers 
—  let  it  be  green  as  the  vernal  verdure  of  those  graves. 

Rev.  Orville  Dewey,  D.D.,  of  New-York,  took  the  stand  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  invitation  of  the  President.  He  said  he  had  got  his 
travelling  coat  in  his  hand,  and  taken  his  staff.  He  was  sensible 
that  the  time  had  come  for  them  to  part,  and  I  give  you  my  pro- 
mise, (said  he,)  that  I  will  not  detain  you  long.  Yet  I  think,  sir, 
that  this  occasion  has  some  significance  on  which  it  may  be  worth 
our  while  to  spend  a  moment  ere  we  leave  it.  This  immense  mul- 
titude, this  sea  of  faces  around  me,  what  do  they  mean?  Sir,  they 
mean  that  we  are  called  here  by  the  power  of  a  single  sentiment, 
and  I  am  delighted  to  recognise  that  power  —  am  delighted  to  see 
in  our  New  England  —  in  our  scheming,  contriving,  calculating 
New  England,  an  immense  assembly  like  this  gathered  together, 
not  to  build  a  rail-road,  nor  bolster  up  any  party,  but  gathereil  as 
I  may  say,  for  nothing  in  particular.  (Laughter.)  We  are  drawn 
together  by  the  power  of  a  mere  sentiment.  I  have  travelled  all 
over  New  England  within  a  few  weeks  past,  and  have  seen  from 
one  state  of  it  to  another,  a  strong  heart — beating  in  reference  to 
this  very  occasion.  I  am  disposed  sometimes  to  say  that  the  tem- 
perate zone  of  the  earth  is  the  very  torrid  zone  of  feeling.  It  is  so 
at  least  of  the  home  feelings.  I  believe,  powerful  and  wide  spreail 
as  is  the  political  agitation  of  the  present  moment,  that  no  party 
mass  meeting  could  have  drawn  so  many  from  far  and  near  to  it, 
as  this  great  domestic  mass  meeting.  (Cheers.)  I  say  we  are 
called  together  by  a  mere  sentiment;  we  have  come,  not  for  our 
own  interest  nor  a  supposed  advantage — not  to  help  forward  any 
political,  commercial  or  scientific  object.  These  have  their  pla- 
ces: but  they  do  not  occupy  our  attention  to-day.  We  have  come 
upon  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  our  nativity.  This  is  the  fes- 
tival of  our  nativity.  It  was  a  happy  thought,  I  think,  to  send 
out  the  invitation  to  this  meeting;  and,  I  will  say  I  have  been, 
not  surprised,  but  struck,  to  observe  the  hearty  and  enthusia.stir 
response  to  the  call  which  is  given  in  this  immense  assembly.  It 
came  to  us  scattered  over  the  extent  of  a  country  almost  equal  to 
half  of  Europe;  it  found  us  in  the  city,  spread  over  the  prairirsof 
the  west,  by  the  shores  of  the  northern  lakes;  it  found  us  engaged 
with  many  cares  and  labors — one  at  his  (arm,  another  at  his  mer- 


186  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

chandise,  one  stiulyinfy  his  brief,  another  ministering  to  his  people; 
but  when  we  heard  that  invitation,  what  was  the  talismanic  agen- 
cy that  broke  the  spell  and  determined  us  to  obey  it  1  It  was  like 
the  song  of  the  Scotch  maiden, 

"  The  woods  in  which  we  dweU  pleasantly  rustled  in  the  song, 
And  our  streams  were  there  with  the  sound  of  all  their  waters." 

It  has  been  said  that  in  this  wide  country,  continually  inviting 
to  new  settlements,  and  with  the  almost  nomadic  habits  of  our 
people,  the  sentiment  of  home  is  likely  to  be  weakened.  I 
will  not  contend  that  point  formally,  but  will  ask  those  who  have 
returned  after  many  years'  absence  to  their  native  home  and  fields, 
whether  the  sentiment  of  which  I  speak  has  died  or  is  likely  to 
die  ?  I  am'  quite  sensible  that  we  are  likely  to  wear  this  theme 
threadbare.  We  must  talk  about  our  home.  It  is  that  in  which 
all  our  thoughts  and  feelings  concentrate  now^  But  is  it  possible 
to  wear  out  this  theme?  No:  these  homestead  acres  w^hich  give 
back  the  lessons  of  our  childhood;  these  fields  in  which  are  writ- 
ten the  memories  of  past  pleasures;  these  hedges  which  warbled 
sweet  melodies  to  our  youthful  ear,  the  barn  roof  on  which  we 
once  heard  the  rain  patter;  these  lowly  porches  on  which  we  sat 
when  the  day  went  down;  the  hearth-stone  that  first  echoed  to  the 
name  of  "father,"  "mother," — all  are  themes  of  delight,  ever 
green,  ever  fragrant. 

We  may  have  found  wealth,  splendor,  fame,  elsewhere;  but  there 
is  no  spot  of  earth  like  this.  If  I  express  my  own  feelings,  all 
other  aspects  wear  an  air  of  strangeness  and  foreignness  in  com- 
parison with  these.  And  yet,  after  all,  I  feel  how  utterly  vain 
are  my  efforts  to  express  this  sentiment.  There  is  something  coil- 
ed up  in  this  sentiment  which  I  cannot  unfold.  It  reminds  me  of 
an  anecdote  of  one  of  the  venerable  fathers  of  the  church  in  this 
County — Dr.  West,  one  of  the  most  learned,  pure,  gentle  spirits 
that  ever  lived.  I  recollect  one  day  of  hearing  a  little  child  read 
the  Scriptures.  Its  voice  had  nothing  remarkably  impressive,  it 
was  a  child's  voice.  I  found  myself  moved  in  the  most  extraordi- 
nary manner,  and  yet  unable  to  tell  why,  for  I  understood  not 
what  she  uttered.  On  a  few  moments'  reflection  I  discovered  that 
the  tone  of  that  little  child's  voice  was  like  the  voice  of  Dr.  West 
in  prayer.  So  I  think  it  is  with  home  affections;  we  are  moved, 
we  can  scarcely  tell  why,  at  the  sound  of  the  word  home.     It  is 


THE    DINNER.  187 

good  for  US  to  cherish  these  affections.  Antaeus,  the  child  of  Terra 
and  Neptune,  of  earth  and  sea,  only  on  the  earth  could  be  strong, 
could  draw  his  replenished  energies,  enabling  him  to  hold  contest 
with  the  foe ;  and  thus  it  is  we  turn  hither  on  the  waves  of  life, 
we  spread  our  sails  for  the  haven  of  honor,  but  after  all,  the  re-af- 
forded strength  and  courage  to  fight  with  perils  is  drawn  from  the 
home  affections. 

One  word  more,  and  I  will  relieve  your  attention.  If  it  could 
so  have  happened  that  we  who  are  gathered  together  had  met  as 
travellers  in  the  heart  of  Asia,  and  if  an  urn  of  earth  taken  from 
these  fields  around  us  could  be  placed  upon  the  board  around  which 
we  were  gathered,  of  that  sacred  earth  we  should  make  our  altar 
and  over  it,  pour  out  our  homage,  and  when  we  parted,  I  doubt  not, 
we  should  be  glad  to  take  a  handful  of  that  earth  to  be  a  holy  talis- 
man, a  sacred  relic  to  cheer  us  on  our  way.  So  in  the  journey  of 
life  we  have  met  to-day  to  pay  our  homage  of  thanksgiving,  and 
when  we  part  we  will  take  a  breath  of  home  affection,  as  it  were 
a  bit  of  earth,  to  be  a  pleasant  inspiration  and  memory  in  time  to 
come. 

The  President  introduced  to  the  meeting  Hon.  Jllus  Rock- 
v.'ELL,  who,  (he  said,)  though  a  Connecticut  boy,  is  a  Berkshire 
man.     Mr.  Rockwell  having  taken  the  stand,  said — 

Mr.  President  —  When  you  took  your  place  there,  I  thought 
sir,  you  told  us  you  were  to  follow  a  chart  or  plan  laid  before  you: 
and  you  will  find  no  such  thing  as  you  last  read  upon  it.  It  was 
my  honorable  distinction  here,  to  be  entrusted  to  present  to  this 
meeting  a  sentiment  from  another  mind. 

Sir,  you  have  rightly  said,  I  am  not  one  of  Berkshire's  Sons. 
But  I  have  done  all  I  could  to  make  my  position  better;  and  I 
say  to  every  young  man  who  hears  me,  go  and  do  likewise,  (cheers;) 
for  with  the  most  persevering  exertions,  I  tell  him,  he  can  obtain, 
if  he  be  not  too  late,  a  Berkshire  wife!  (Great  dieering.). 

One  of  the  gentlemen  who  has  spoken  here,  has  told  you  how 
fortunate  it  is  in  young  life,  to  go  from  Berkshire  ;  1  can  tell  him 
how  fortunate  it  is  in  young  life  to  co7ne  to  the  County  of  Berk- 
shire. Another  gentleman,  with  great  beauty  and  power,  spoke 
of  the  feeling  that  pervades  every  heart  on  this  occasion,  as  the 
feeling  of  the  young  eagle  returning  to  the  eagle's  nest.     What 

X 


188  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

think  you  is  the  feeling  of  the  eagle  mother  as  she  sees  her  young, 
strong  in  pinions,  strong  in  all  that  becomes  and  ennobles  their 
kind,  returning  to  their  mother's  nest?  O!  in  other  days, —  those 
days  when  the  rights  of  man  demanded  that  one  nation  should  be 
arrayed  against  another, — they  came  back  with  the  eagle  beak  all 
crimsoned  with  blood!  God  upheld  and  blessed  them  as  they 
struggled,  and  toiled,  and  conquered,  and  rejoiced  together.  But 
now!  they  come  back  with  the  same  strong  wing,  the  same  pierc- 
ing eye,  to  tell  us  of  their  achievements  on  other  fields  and  in 
other  things,  and  to  exhibit  them  here.  They  have  received  their 
w^arm  w'elcome  ;  and  a  pity  it  is,  that  this  occasion  may  not  last 
as  long  as  the  fair  sun  which  now  blesses  it,  continues  to  shine. 
But  I  may  not  trust  myself  to  say  more.  I  present  you  the  sen- 
timent of  one  who,  though  not  born  or  bred  in  Berkshire,  is  here 
to-day  in  mind  and  in  heart,  and  whose  pen  all  know.  It  bears 
the  initials  of"  L.  H.  S.,"  and  all  know  it  belongs  to  Mrs.  Sig- 

OURNEY. 

The  Old  Bay  State — 

You  scarce  can  go,  where  streamlets  flow, 

In  prairie,  or  western  glen. 
Or  among  the  great,  in  halls  of  state. 

But  you'll  find  the  Berkshire  men: 
May  the  blessing  of  health  and  well  spent  wealth, 

And  stainless  names  await 
(With  the  treasur'd  glee  of  this  Jubilee,) 

The  Sons  of  the  Old  Bay  State. 

L.    H.    S. 

The  sentiment  of  Mrs.  Sigourney  having  been  read,  a  young  la- 
dy from  the  centre  of  New-York,  immediately  offered  the  follow- 
ing sentiment  impromptu — 

You  scarce  can  go,  thro'  the  world  below, 

But  you'll  find  the  Berkshire  men: 
And  if  you  rove  the  world  above, 

You'll  find  them  there  again. 


THE   DINNER.  189 

SONG: 

[Composed  by  a  member  of  the  Young  Ladies'  Institute,  and  sung  by  the  Young 
Ladies  of  the  SchooL    The  whole  company  joined  in  the  chorus.] 

Glad  sounds  of  joy  are  on  the  air, 

And  shouts  rise  loud  and  free, 

Our  quiet  vale  resounds  with  mirth 

And  hearts  o'erflow  with  glee. 

For  days  of  auld  lang  syne,  dear  friends, 

For  days  of  auld  lang  syne, 
We'll  have  sweet  thoughts  of  kindness  yet 
For  days  of  auld  lang  syne. 

Thrice  welcome^  brothers,  wanderers,  all 

Who  filially  have  come, 
Our  voices  high  in  song  we  raise 

And  bid  you  loelcome  home! 

For  days  of  auld  lang  syne,  &c. 

How  sweet  for  friends  to  gather  home, 

Where  once  they've  happy  been. 
Though  paler  now  life's  lamp  may  burn 

And  years  have  rolled  between. 

For  days  of  auld  lang  syne,  &c. 

And  since  those  eyes  beam  welcome  yet 

That  smiled  in  gladness  then. 
Now,  in  the  smiles  of  friends  thus  met. 

Whole  years  are  lived  again. 

For  days  of  auld  lang  syne,  &c. 

The  days  of  life's  glad  spring  return 

With  all  their  hopes  and  fears. 
Where  fondly  mem'ry  plucks  sweet  flowers 

To  bloom  through  future  years. 

For  days  of  auld  lang  syne,  &,c. 

Soon,  greeting  smiles  to  sadness  turn 

As  drops  the  parting  tear, 
But  mem'ry  long  shall  sacred  keep 

Our  glorious  gathering  here. 

For  days  of  auld  lang  syne,  &c. 


190  BtUKSHIRE    JLBILEE. 

At  the  dose  of  the  ode,  sung  to  the  tune  of  Jluld  Lang  SynCj 
by  the  Young  Ladies  of  the  Institute,  the  President  called  Judge 
Betts,  Chairman  of  New- York  Committee,  Avho  said — 

Mr,  President  and  Gentlemen  and  Ladies — Whilst  the  me- 
lody of  this  sweet  song  rests  so  pleasantly  on  the  hearts  of  all  pres- 
ent, I  should  most  unwillingly  disturb  the  grateful  emotion  by  an 
address  of  my  own.  Indeed  had  I  tones  at  command  which  would 
embrace  this  wide  family  encampment,  of  what  could  I  so  filly 
speak  to  you  here  as  of  jiuld  Lang  Syne  ?  and  no  words  of  mine 
could  express  the  feelings  swelling  our  bosoms  on  this  occasion, 
so  impressively  as  the  parting  chant  those  young  voices  have  left 
on  our  memories. 

In  place  then  of  occupying  your  attention  with  a  speech  myself, 
permit  me  to  employ  the  moment  of  the  day  and  of  our  festivities 
yet  remaining,  in  offering  a  suggestion  which  may  enable  each  one 
of  us,  by  the  transactions  of  yesterday  and  to-day,  to  speak  for 
all  and  to  every  heart  in  this  broad  land,  and  to  the  children  of 
Berkshire  in  all  times  to  come. 

I  am  authorized  by  the  Committees  of  Berkshire  and  New-York, 
to  invite  a  meeting  this  evening  of  the  Committees  and  all  others 
concurring  in  the  object,  to  take  measures  for  publishing  and  pre- 
serving the  proceedings  of  this  Jubilee. 

Mr.  President  —  May  I  ask  your  indulgence  in  parting,  to  offer 
a  sentiment  which  seems  to  me  brought  strikingly  home  to  all  of 
us,  children  of  this  choice  region,  and  who  have  gone  out  from 
among  you. 

The  opportunity  has  been  afforded  me  the  past  few  days,  in  vis- 
iting a  series  of  your  beautiful  towns,  to  compare,  to  some  extent, 
the  present,  with  the  state  of  the  country  in  1806,  when  my  resi- 
dence in  it  ceased. 

Since  that  period  the  doubled  population  —  the  improved  cul- 
ture of  the  land  —  the  thrifty  appearance  of  villages  and  farm 
residences  and  manufactories  —  the  increase  of  churches,  schools 
and  academies — all  denote  an  eminent  and  solid  advancement 
in  wealth,  refinement,  and  the  substantial  comforts  of  life.  In 
view  of  this  great  and  interesting  progress  in  improvement  and 
well  being  here,  the  thought  seems  appropriate  to  us  —  that  we, 
emigrants,  should  realize  that  there  is  much  before  us  to  do  to  ren- 
der our  conditions  abroad  of  equal  fellowship  with  those  in  Old 
Berkshire,  at  home. 


THE    DINNER.  191 

The  President  called  upon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Todd,  Chairman  of  the 
Berkshire  County  Committee. 

Mr.  Todd  responded  to  the  call  as  follows: 

Mr.  President — The  difficult  and  painful  duty  has  fallen  upon 
me,  of  bidding  farewell  to  these  friends  who  have  honored  us  so  far 
as  to  come  from  their  several  homes  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  their 
childhood,  to  revive  the  memory  of  other  days,  and  to  renew  tlie 
acquaintances  of  early  life.  Were  it  not  tliat  time  is  too  precious, 
and  one  individual  of  too  little  consequence  at  this  moment,  I 
might  express  my  deep  regret  that  this  duty  had  not  fallen  upon 
some  other  one. 

We  have  often  thought,  sir. — thought  with  pride,  of  our  Gor- 
geous hills  and  valleys,  which  have  been  so  beautifully  celebrated 
at  this  time;  we  have  often  taken  pride  in  this  our  home,  and  in 
all  that  is  included  in  the  term  "Berkshire,"  and  thought  that  we 
had  scenery  unsurpassed  in  nature.  We  thought  that  this  occa- 
sion would  bring  bright  and  loved  beings  around  us — brighter  and 
more  loved  than  whom,  could  not  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
But,  I  doubt  not,  this  pride  in  the  present  occupants  of  Berkshire, 
has  been  justly  rebuked  and  deeply  humbled.  We  had  no  con- 
ception of  the  beauty,  the  intellect,  the  character,  and  the  real  no- 
bility of  nature,  which  this  meeting  would  call  home;  and  here- 
after we  shall  look  back  upon  this  gathering  as  one  of  the  bright- 
est and  most  beautiful  occasions  in  our  earthly  pilgrimage.  We 
have  been  thinking  how  we  could  erect  some  monument  of  this 
Jubilee.  In  our  wisdom,  we  have  spoken  of  several;  but  after  all, 
God  has  been  before  us,  and  his  mighty  hand  hath  reared  tlie 
Monument.  That  Hill  from  which  we  came  to  this  pavilion, 
will  hereafter  bear  the  name  of  "JUBILEE  HILL!"  and  when 
our  heads  are  laid  in  the  grave,  and  we  have  passed  away 
and  are  forgotten,  we  hope  our  children,  and  our  children's 
children,  will  walk  over  that  beautiful  spot  and  say,  "here  our  fa- 
thers and  mothers  celebrated  the  Berkshire  Jubilee!'''  This  monu- 
ment shall  stand  as  long  as  the  footstool  of  God  shall  remain. 

Friends,  dear  friends!  we  have  been  greatly  honored  by  your 
presence.  We  come  now  to  give  you  the  parting  hand.  We 
hope  you  will  not  forget  these  scenes  that  must  live  with  the  mem- 
ory of  childhood,  of  the  homes  you  have  loved,  and  of  the  friends 


192  UKUKSHIUK    JUBILEE. 

you  have  greeted.  You  leave  us  now  forever.  But  we  shall  not 
forget  you.  We  shall  remember  you  in  our  morning  and  evening 
prayer.  We  shall  bear  you  up  to  heaven,  and  go  where  you  will, 
we  pray  that  our  fathers'  God,  the  God  of  Jacob,  may  be  your 
God.  We  hope  that  you  will  not  forget  that  your  character  was 
formed  by  the  domestic  hearth,  by  the  humble  school  house,  by  the 
bright  meadow,  the  lofty  mountain  and  the  deep  glen;  and  above 
all  things,  we  hope  you  will  not  forget,  nor  let  your  children  for- 
get, the  old  family  Bible, —  our  fathers'  Bible,  King  James'  old 
English  Bible!     Don't  forget  how 

"  That  Bible, —  the  volume  of  God's  inspiration, 

At  noon  and  at  evening,  could  yield  us  delight, 
And  the  prayer  of  our  sire  was  a  sweet  invocation, 

For  mercy  by  day,  and  for  safety  through  night. 
Our  hymns  of  thanksgiving,  with  harmony  swelling, 

All  warm  from  the  heart  of  a  family  band. 
Half  raised  us  from  earth  to  that  rapturous  dwelling. 

Described  in  the  Bible,  that  lay  on  the  stand : 
The  old  fashioned  Bible,  the  dear  blessed  Bible, 

The  family  Bible,  that  lay  on  the  stand!" 

Don't  forget  this  old  Bible,  the  chart  of  liberty;  that  which  has 
made  New  England,  which  has  made  the  "  Old  Bay  State,"  and 
especially,  that  which  has  made  Berkshire  what  it  is. 

And  now  in  the  name  of  your  Committee,  Fathers,  Mothers,  Bro- 
thers, Sisters,  Friends,  while  the  band  stand  ready  to  strike  the 
notes  that  are  to  part  us,  we  pause  simply  to  say,  thank  you!  God 
bless  you!  Farewell!  We  shall  not  think  the  less  of  that  son  or 
daughter  who  drops  a  tear,  as  we  say  to  one  another,  Farewell! 
Farewell!  till  we  meet  on  the  great  day  of  meeting! 

Three  hearty  cheers  were  then  given  for  the  Old  Homestead^  and 
the  Emigrant!  The  band  played  a  farewell  while  the  immense 
multitude  separated,  most  of  whom  were  in  tears. 


B 
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APPEIDIX 


APPENDIX. 


A  KEGOLLECTION  OF  THE  STOCKBRIBGE  LXIIIANS. 


BY  THOMAS  ALLEX,  ESQ.,  OF  ST.  LOUIS. 


There  are  a  living  people,  an  entire  class,  whose  Father-land  is 
this  on  which  we  tread,  not  one  soul  of  whom  mingles  in  this  ge- 
neral Jubilee  of  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Berkshire.  This,  our 
native  soil,  was  once  theirs,  and  sacred  to  them  by  the  dust  of  their 
ancestors  mingling  with  it.  But  for  them  the  "  home-call"  had 
no  charms,  and  they  are  not  here.  No  joy  to  them  to  come  back 
and  see  the  old  forests  gone,  their  fathers'  bones  scattered  in  the 
furrow,  and  our  homes  built  upon  fields  where  their  genera- 
tions sleep.  But  let  us  not  be  so  ungenerous,  amid  our  rejoicing, 
as  to  disdain  a  recollection  of  the  poor  Housatonic  Indian. 

At  the  period  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  English  in  Berk- 
shire, there  w^ere  no  Indians  permanently  situated  within  its  limits 
bearing  a  distinctive  appellation  as  a  tribe,  or  living  together  as  a 
separate  and  independent  community.  Small  bands  dwelt  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  County,  and  the  miildle  and  northern  por- 
tions were  often  penetrated  and  traversed  by  individuals  and  par- 
ties from  the  tribes  beyond  the  County,  north,  east  and  west.  As 
the  w^hite  settlements  extended  in  eastern  Massachusetts,  the  native 
tribes  moved  gradually  westward.  Many  of  them  fled  before  the 
whites  in  alarm,  and  it  is  ])robable  that  Berkshire  was  often  the 
temporary  refuge  of  the  doomed  and  terrified  fugitives.  It  is  said 
that  as  early  as  King  Philip's  war,  (1675,)  some  200  fugitive  In- 
dians were  pursued  by  soldiers  of  the  Connecticut  colony,  from 
Westfield  to  the  banks  of  the  Housatonic,  where  a  battle  ensued 
in  which  many  Indians  were  captured. 

Y 


198  WZKKSHIUK    JUniLEK. 

The  first  purchase  of  land  by  the  whiles  in  Berkshire,  wasma<!f 
on  the  25th  of  Apr\l,  1724,  by  citizens  of  the  county  of  Hamp- 
shire, of  Inchans  dwelling  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  town 
of  Shefrield.  The  deed  was  executed  by  an  Indian  (-hief  named 
Konkepot,  and  twenty  other  Indians,  at  VVestlield,  and  conveyed  the 
sites  of  the  present  towns  of  Sheffield,  Egremont,  Mt.  Washing- 
ton, Gt.  Barrington,  Alfred,  and  portions  of  Lee,  of  Stockbridge, 
and  of  West  Stockbridge.  The  consideration  was  "  <£460,  three 
barrels  of  cider,  and  thirty  quarts  of  rum."  These  Indians  were 
called  at  that  time  River  Indians,  and  Housatonic  Indians,  and 
were  probably  of  Mohawk  or  Mohegan  connection.  The  desire 
of  Konkepot  to  be  instructed  in  the  Christain  religion,  led  to  the 
establishment  in  1734,  of  a  mission  and  school  by  Mr.  John  Ser- 
geant, a  native  of  New  Jersey,  assisted  by  Timothy  Woodbridge  at 
Wnahtukook,  or  Great  Meadow,  since  known  as  Stockbridge,  where 
a  few  families  of  Indians  under  Capt.  Konkepot,  resided.  A  few 
other  families  lived  on  lands  situated  near  the  present  divisional  line 
between  Gt.  Barrington  and  Sheffield,  under  Lieut. Umpachene;  their 
settlement  was  called  Scatekook.  Both  these  chiefs  received  their 
military  titles  from,  the  British  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  Jonathan 
Belcher,  and  are  said  to  have  been  respectable  men.  To  remedy  the 
inconvenience  of  instructing  settlements  so  far  apart,  the  Indians 
agreed  to  meet  and  dwell  together  during  the  winter  season,  at  a 
point  about  half  way  between  their  tw^o  little  villages.  For  this 
purpose,  they  began  to  erect  a  school  and  meeting  house,  with 
small  huts  around  it,  in  Gt.  Barrington.  After  three  winters'  trial, 
this  arrangement  proved  inconvenient,  owing  to  their  being  obli- 
ged to  return  to  the  fields  they  cultivated,  in  the  spring.  Being 
acquainted  with  their  wants  and  condition,  the  Legislature  granted 
them  a  township  of  land  in  1735,  where  Stockbridge  now  is,  and 
the  Indians  removed  there  in  1736.  In  1737,  the  Legislature 
ordered  for  them  the  erection  of  a  meeting  house,  thirty  feet  by 
forty,  and  of  a  school  house,  at  the  expense  of  the  Province.  In 
1739,  the  settlement,  called  then  "  Indian  Town,"  was  incorpora- 
ted as  a  town,  and  received  the  name  of  Stockbridge,  probably 
from  a  town  of  the  same  name  in  England,  and  the  Indians  have 
been  called  the  Stockbridge  Inchans  from  that  day  to  the  present. 
The  settlement  increased  from  the  number  of  eighty  souls  at  the 
time  of  its  commencement,  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  in  1740, 


APPENDIX.  jy9 

by  accessions  from  various  quarters  external.  The  inhabitants  of 
a  small  village  called  Kannaumetk^  near  tiie  present  Jirainerd's 
Bridge,  joined  them  in  1744,  and  in  1747  they  numbered  two 
hundred  souls.  They  were  afterwards  increased  to  about  four 
hundred,  which  is  believed  to  have  been  about  their  averaj^e  num- 
ber afterward,  so  long  as  they  remained  in  this  county.  Mr.  Ser- 
geant translated  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  except  the  book 
of  Revelation,  into  the  Indian  language.  He  baptised  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-nine  Indians,  and  contributed  to  the  conversion 
of  fifty  or  sixty  to  Christianity  ;  and  forty-two  were  communi- 
cants with  the  church  when  he  closed  his  labors  by  death,  in  1749. 
Jonathan  Edw^ards  became  the  teacher  of  tliese  IncHans  in  1751, 
and  labored  among  them  about  seven  years,  when  he  became  Pre- 
sident of  Nassau  Hall.  It  was  during  his  sojourn  among  the 
Stockbridge  Indians,  that  President  Edwards  composed  his  famous 
work  on  the  Will.  His  studies  were  pursued  in  a  room  but  six 
feet  square,  and  with  one  window.  The  house  he  occupied  is  yet 
s,tanding.  He  was  followed  by  Dr.  Stephen  West,  in  1759,  who 
was  at  that  time  Chaplain  at  Fort  Massachusetts,  in  Adams.  Dr. 
West  and  President  Edwards,  addressed  the  Indians  through  an 
interpreter.  Dr.  West  relinquished  the  labor  of  instruction  in 
1775,  to  Mr.  John  Sergeant,  son  of  the  first  missionary,  who,  as 
did  his  father,  taught  the  Indians  in  their  native  tongue.  This 
language  was  said  to  have  been  the  common  language  of  the  In- 
dians of  New  England;  of  the  Penobscots  near  Nova  Scotia,  of 
the  Indians  of  St.  Francis  in  Canada,  and  of  other  tribes  west  and 
south,  and  that  it  w^as  spoken  more  generally  than  any  other  In- 
dian lano;uae;e  in  North  America.  Elliot's  translation  of  the  Ui- 
ble  was  said  to  have  been  into  a  dialed  of  the  Stockbridge  lan- 
guage. Many  of  the  Indian  youth  received  a  very  good  common 
school  education  from  these  missionary  teachers;  and  oneof  tiiem, 
Peter  Pohquonnoppeet^  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1780.  As  a  tribe  they  w^ere  peaceable,  tractable  and  inti-lligcnt, 
capable  of  transacting  ordinary  business,  and  of  discharging  the 
duties  of  town  officers,  which  devolved  upon  some  of  them.  From 
the  earliest  time  they  were  uniformly  iVienilly  to  the  white  race, 
and  probably  in  their  whole  history  to  the  present  time,  an  act  of 
hostility  or  violence  committed  by  them  against  tiie  white  popula- 
tion, cannot  be  found.      On  the  contrary,  tlu-y   pnlorMicd  numer- 


200  BERKSHIRE  JUBILEE. 

ous  kind  offices  for  the  early  settlers  of  the  County,  often  fought, 
and  sometimes  shed  their  blood  for  them.  Other  Indians  made 
attacks,  and  committed  murders  and  depredations  within  the  Coun- 
ty, often  spreading  terror  through  the  settlements,  causing  the  in- 
habitants to  erect  forts  and  block  houses  for  their  defence.  But 
the  friendship  of  the  Stockbridges  served  against  foes  white  or  red, 
and  never  failed.  They  took  part  with  the  English  in  the  two 
French  wars  of  1744  and  1754.  They  served,  some  of  them  as 
Massachusetts  soldiers,  and  in  1775,  one  of  the  chiefs  formally 
tendered  his  services  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  in  a  speech  made 
to  the  Massachusetts  Congress.  In  a  letter  addressed  from  Pitts- 
field,  May  9,  1775,  by  Rev.  Thomas  Allen  to  Gen.  Seth  Pomeroy, 
at  Cambridge,  it  is  said  :  "  Solomon,  the  Indian  King,  at  Stock- 
bridge,  was  lately  at  Col.  Easton's,  of  this  town,  and  said  there 
that  the  Mohawks  had  not  only  given  liberty  to  the  Stockbridge 
Indians  to  join  us,  but  had  sent  them  a  belt  denoting  that  they  would 
hold  in  readiness  five  hundred  men,  to  join  us  immediately  on  the 
first  notice,  and  that  the  said  Solomon  holds  an  Indian  post  in  ac- 
tual readiness  to  run  with  the  news  as  soon  as  they  shall  be  want- 
ed." The  Stockbridges  composed  part  of  a  company  of  rangers 
acting  near  Boston,  commanded  by  Capt.  Timothy  Yokun,  one  of 
their  own  tribe.  A  full  company  of  them  fought  for  the  Ameri- 
cans at  White  Plains,  under  Capt.  Daniel  JWmham^  where  four 
were  slain.  Others  served  elsewhere.  A  feast  was  given  them  at 
the  close  of  the  w:ar.,; by  command  of  Gen.  Washington,  in  con- 
sideration of  their  gall ajit  conduct  in  the  American  service.  It 
was  given  in  StockbridgCj-near  the  residence  of  King  Soloipaon 
and  the  whole  tribe  partook  of  it.  King  Ben,  or  Benjamin,  Kok- 
kewenaimaut,  the  immediate  predecessor  of  Solomon,  died  in  I7S1, 
at  the  great  age  of  104  years. 

The  Stockbridges  did  not  remain  long  in  Massachusetts  after 
the  close  of  the  war.  Previously  to  that  contest,  a  township  of 
land  had  been  given  them  by  the  Oneidas  in  the  State  of  xSTew- 
York.  Selling  their  possessions  in  Stockbridge  gradually  to  their 
white  neighbors,  they  began  to  remove  to  New- York  in  1783,  af- 
ter the  peace,  and  all,  numbering  about  four  hundred  and  twenty, 
reached  their  new  homes  in  17SS.  They  called  the  settlement 
New  Stockbridge.  The  school,  which  had  accomplished  so  much 
in  improving  them  since  1734,  followed,  and  the  son  of  their  first 


APPENDIX.  201 

teacher  did  not  desert  them.  Mr.  Sergeant,  who  had  been  their 
teacher,  became  also  their  pastor,  sixteen  of  the  tribe  professing 
religion,  and  forming  themselves  into  a  new  church.  Mr.  Ser- 
geant spent  six  months  in  a  year  with  them,  until  1790.  when  he 
removed  his  family  to  New  Stockhridge,  and  remained  altogether 
in  the  service  of  the  Indians  until  his  death.  They  continued  a 
peaceful,  agricultural  people,  and  their  little  church  slowly  in- 
creased. Samson  Occojn,  was  an  Indian  preacher,  a  Mohegan, 
who  lived  in  their  vicjjiiity,  resided  with  them  during  the  last  years 
of  his  life,  and  died  among  them  in  1792.  Mr.  Sergeant  died  in 
1824,  at  the  age  of  seventy -seven. 

The  white  man's  star  of  empire  continuing  westward,  another 
removal  was  deemed  advisable.  The  Delawares  had  given  the 
Stockbridges  a  tract  of  land  upon  the  White  River  in  Indiana,  to 
which  many  of  the  latter  seemed  desirous  of  removing.  Some  of 
them  went  to  Indiana,  but  government  agents,  it  is  charged, 
wronged  them  of  their  title.  Subsequently,  a  lar2:e  tract  of  land 
was  purchased  at  the  head  of  Green  Bay  in  Wiskonsan,  for  seve- 
ral New- York  tribes,  and  a  provision  was  also  there  made  for  the 
Stockbridges.  They  began  to  move  thither  in  1822  —  some  lin- 
gered, some  strayed  into  Canada,  but  most  of  them  finally  reached 
the  shores  of  Lake  Winnebago,  where  still  remembering  native 
Berkshire,  they  established  another  Stockhridge.  The  little  church 
and  school,  whose  seed  was  planted  in  Massachusetts,  survived 
this  removal  also,  and  still  flourishes  beyond  the  shores  of  Michi- 
gan. But  the  terms  of  their  leases  of  any  particular  spot  of  earth, 
as  with  other  tribes,  have  been  growinij  shorter  and  shorter.  They 
were  permitted  to  remain  in  Stockhridge  of  Massachusetts  forty- 
nine  years,  in  the  Stockhridge  of  New-York,  thirty-four  years,  but 
they  had  dwelt  in  Wiskonsan  only  seventeen  years,  when  they 
were  summoned  again  to  depart.  By  a  treaty  made  in  I831),tl»ey 
ceded  their  land  in  Wiskonsan,  and  the  government  agreed  to  re- 
move them  to  the  west  of  the  Missouri  as  soon  as  they  were  ready 
to  go,  to  subsist  them  one  year  afterward,  and  in  conjunction  with 
the  Munsees,  they  receive  per  annum,  the  interest  of  §6,000,  viz: 
$360.*     About  seventy  of  thorn,  of  their  own  accord,  in  the  fall 


•A  communication  from  the  Commissioner  m  irio  In.iMii  t'in.  «■  .ti  \'. ..-.., iis-".  ...i- 
dressed  to  me  under  date  of  August  31,  1S44,  and  since  this  paper  was  preiwrcd,  tute* 


202  BERKSniRE    JUBILEE. 

ol'  1839,  sought  their  own  way  to  the  Missouri,  ami  rtaclieil  the 
lands  of  the  Dclawares  in  great  poverty.  They  were  invited  to 
this  neighborhood  by  the  Delawares.  But  their  situation  is  not 
permanent.  Tiiey  have  applied  for  an  independent  location,  and 
the  application  is  now  under  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  de- 
partment at  Washington.  The  larger  portion  of  the  tribe,  viz. 
207,  remained  in  Wiskonsan,  and  they  have  applied  to  Congress 
for  the  privileges  of  citizenship  which  are  enjoyed  by  their  friends 
and  neighbors,  the  Brothertown  Indians.  As  they  are  deemed 
sufficiently  civilized,  the  privilege  of  being  placed  upon  a  footing 
with  citizens  of  the  United  States,  will  probably  be  extended  to 
them.*  Their  merits  and  services  seem  to  entitle  them  to  it.  But 
the  little  band  on  the  Missouri,  have  probably  sought  a  different 
destiny,  viz:  that  of  being  mingled  perhaps  wath  the  great  tribes 
west  of  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States,  whose  language  of 
complaint  is, 

"  They  waste  us — aye — like  April  snow 

In  the  w  arm  noon,  we  shrink  away ; 
And  fast  they  follow,  as  we  go 

Toward  the  setting  day, — 
Till  they  shall  fill  the  land,  and  wc 
Are  driven  into  the  western  sea." 

This  little  band  of  Stockbridges  are  settled  by  permission,  on 
the  lands  of  the  Delawares,  aboiit  fiVe  or  six  miles  below  Fort 
Leavenworth,  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Missouri  river.  I  saw 
them  there  in  1842.  Their  dress  is  such,  that  at  a  distance  they 
are  easily  mistaken  for  white  people.  Their  manners  and  customs 
are  also  quite  civilized.  They  plough  and  hoe,  and  keep  oxen, 
cows  and  hogs.     They  have  built  neat  cabins  of  hewn  logs,  fenced 


that,  "the  annuities  of  which  the  Stockbridges  are  now  in  the  receipt,  are  $350,  as 
their  portion  of  the  annuities  provided  for  by  the  treaty  of  "94  with  the  Six  Nations 
of  New-York,  of  whicli  $280  goes  to  the  Stockbridges  still  east,  and  the  interest  (six 
per  cent  payable  quarterly.)  on  $6,000  invested,  as  per  treaty  of  September,  1839,  in 
public  stock  as  a  permanent  school  fund,  which  also  is  secured  exclusively  to  the 
Stockbridges  east.  It  will  thus  appear  that  the  Stockbridges  east  receive  $640,  and 
^hose  west  $70  in  annuities." 

•  This  application,  I  now  learn,  was  granted  by  the  twenty-seventh  Congress,  in 
the  form  of  an  act  constituting  them  "citizens  of  the  United  States  to  all  intents  and 
purf>oscs,'' —  it  is  however,  understood  that  a  portion  of  tliem  are  opposed  to  having 
their  nationality  thus  merged  in  ours,  and  have  applied  to  Congress  witli  the  purpose 
of  effecting  a  repeal  of  Uie  law. 


APPENDIX.  203 

their  farms,  and  are  very  orderly  and  industrious.  Tlii-_>  v..iii(tiuu's 
produce  a  little  surplus  corn  to  sell,  and  sometimes  they  labor  for 
others  for  wages.  They  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  mission  school. • 
Missouri  and  Iowa  are  settled  up  to  the  boundary  line,  and  many 
of  the  white  settlers  are  beginning  already  to  desire  the  lands  of 
the  Delawares,  which  are  beyond.  They  are  of  the  most  fertile 
and  beautiful  description,  and  destined,  as  settlement  has  hitherto 
been  prosecuted,  to  fall  very  soon  into  the  clutches  of  the  white 
man,  when  the  Indian,  the  Stockbridge  included,  must  take  ano- 
ther step  toward  "  the  western  sea."  The  Stockbridges  have  pre- 
served a  very  uniformly  respectable  character  —  continued  friend- 
ship for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  what  is  more  singu- 
lar, nearly  the  same.average  number  of  souls  in  their  tribi-,  from 
about  1750  to  this  day. 

Let  us  imagine  the  Stockbridge  Indian  returned  to-day,  like  us, 
to  his  native  Berkshire.  Does  any  kindred  welcome  him?  Docs 
any  thing  living  give  him  a  friendly  token  of  recognition.'  Me- 
thinks  I  hear  him  sadly  saying,  in  the  language  of  our  honored  and 
honoring  poet: 

"  It  is  the  spot  I  came  to  seek, — 
My  father's  ancient  burial  place, 
Ere  from  these  vales,  ashamed  and  weak, 

Withdrew  our  wasted  race. 
It  is  the  spot — I  know  it  well — 
Of  which'our  old  traditions  tell. 

"  For  here  the  upland  bank  sends  out 

A  ridge  toward  the  river  side ; 
I  know  the  shagt^y  hills  about. 

The  meadows  smooth  and  wide  : 
The  plains,  that  toward  the  soulliern  skv, 
Fenced  east  and  west  by  mountains,  lie. 


•  The  Delawares  have  hercfoforc  opposed  (he  eslablishmrnl  of  a  St<>okl)riil);o  )ioii>i> 
of  worship  and  school  ainon}:rthcin  on  the  .Missouri.  Hut  the  Stt)ckbridj^os  tliero  have 
a  native  teacher  among  them,  who  is  no  doubt  cmi)loycd,  and  may,  in  some  nirasurn 
supply  the  want  of  the  regular  (eaclier  whom  the  Haptist  Missionary  Society  wpro 
desirous  to  furnish,  and  who  is  unilorsfood  to  be  awaiting  the  withdrawal  of  tho  op- 
position of  the  Delawares,  wliich  now  j)rceluilcs  licr  from  entering  ujuin  her  duties. 
As  to  religious  instruction,  though  from  Uie  same  o|)|)osilion  Uiey  are  wilhoul  a  re- 
sident missionary,  they  still  have  the  occasional  pastoral  services  of  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  Shawnee  Mission. 


204  BERKSHIRE   JUBILEE. 

"  A  whitft  man  gazing  on  the  scene, 
Would  say  a  lovely  spot  was  here, 
And  praise  the  lawns  so  fresh  and  green 

Between  the  hills  so  sheer. 
I  like  it  not; — I  would  the  plain 
Lay  in  its  tall  old  groves  again. 

"  The  sheep  arc  on  the  slopes  around, 
The  cattle  in  the  meadows  feed. 
And  laborers  turn  the  crumbling  ground, 

Or  drop  the  yellow  seed. 
And  prancing  steeds,  in  trappings  gay. 
Whirl  thej)right  chariot  o'er  tlie  way. 

"  Methinks  it  were  a  nobler  sight 

To  see  these  vales  in  woods  arrayed, 
Their  summits  in  the  golden  light. 

Their  trunks  in  grateful  shade, 
And  herds  of  deer,  that  bounding  go 
O'er  rills  and  prostrate  trees  below. 

"  And  then  to  mark  the  lord  of  all. 
The  forest  hero  trained  to  wars. 
Quivered  and  plumed,  and  lithe  and  tall. 

And  seamed  with  glorious  scars, 
Walk  forth,  amid  his  reign,  to  dare 
The  wolf,  and  grapple  with  the  bear. 

"  This  bank,  in  which  the  dead  were  laid. 
Was  sacred  when  its  soil  was  ours ; 
Hither  the  artless  Indian  maid 

Brought  wreaths  of  beads  and  flowers, 
And  the  grey  and  gifted  seer 
Worshipped  the  God  of  thunders  here. 

"  But  now  the  wheat  is  green  and  high 
On  clods  that  hid  the  warrior's  breast. 
And  scattered  in  the  furrows  lie 

The  weapons  of  his  rest; 
And  there  in  the  loose  sand  is  thrown. 
Of  his  large  arm,  the  mouldering  bone. 

"  Ah,  little  thought  the  strong  and  brave. 
Who  bore  their  lifeless  chieftain  forth; 
Or  the  young  wife,  that  weeping  gave 

Her  first  born  to  the  earth, 
That  the  pale  race,  who  waste  us  now, 
Among  their  bones  should  guide  the  plough. 


APPENDIX.  205 


But  I  behold  a  fearful  sign 

To  which  Ihe  white  men's  eyes  are  blind; 
Their  race  may  vanish  hence,  like  mine, 

And  leave  no  trace  behind, 
Save  ruins  o'er  the  regioi  spread, 
And  the  white  stones  above  the  dead." 


LITERATURE  OF  BERKSHIRE. 


By  W.  a. 


The  Literature  of  Berkshire^  using  the  term  in  tlu-  broad  sense 
of  the  word,  is  worthy  of  being  remembered  on  this  occasion. 
The  amount  of  it  is,  I  suppose,  about  seventy  or  eighty  volumes, 
besides  some  hundreds  of  single  sermons,  orations  and  addresses. 
Few  writers  in  our  country,  have  written  more  than  the  two  Ed- 
wards', Hopkins  and  West,  Griffin  and  Humphrey,  with  Todd 
and  Miss  Sedgwick.  Then  Dr.  Dewey  and  Mr.  Tapp.\n,  have 
published  several  volumes  each ;  and  Professor  Dewey,  and  oth- 
ers, have  written  various  treatises.  Father  Leland,  of  Cheshire, 
was  also  prolific  as  an  author. 

In  the  department  of  Theology^  what  writings  in  America  are 
more  ceiebrdted,  than  those,  which  have  come  from  the  pen  of 
Berkshire  men'?  In  the  department  of  education  and  of  the  right 
training  of  the  young  in  knowledge  and  virtue,  what  writings 
have  been  more  widely  diffused  and  more  useful  ?  In  the  depart- 
ment of  moral  fable  and  interesting  narrative  what  writings  have 
been  more  acceptable  to  the  publicl  In  the  department  of  poe- 
try what  poet  in  America  is  comparable  to  him,  who  was  born 
among  the  eastern  hills  of  the  Green  Mountain  Range  and  who 
cultivated  his  rare  talent  in  the  silent  valley  of  the  llousaiunnuk  ? 

I  know  not  how  many  volumes  of  foreign  travel  have  been  pub- 
lished by  citizens  of  Berkshire.  The  History  of  our  County  was 
written  many  years  ago,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Field  and  Professor  Dewey  ^ 
assisted  by  many  ministers  of  the  county. 


METAPHYSICS  OF  THEOLOGY. 

I  believe  there  is  no  spot  in  America,  where  it  has  been  so  much 
cultivated,  as  in  Berkshire;  and  that  without  perhaps  impairing 
the  plainness  and  faithfulness  of  the  preaching  of  those,  who  cul- 
tivated it. 


2  10  BERKSHIRE  JUBILEE. 

In  a  six  foot  square  study,  in  Stockbridge,  was  written  that 
great  book,  President  Edwards'  Essay  on  the  "  Freedom  of  the 
Will."  This  was  published  in  1754,  ninety  years  ago  ;  but  at  the 
present  day  it  stands  at  the  head  of  all  such  speculations. 

Dr.  Hopkins'  writings  are  well  known.  He  was  the  minister 
of  Great  Barrington. 

Dr.  Stephen  West,  of  Stockbridge,  wrote  a  metaphysical  book, 
an  essay  on  Moral  Agency. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards  the  son  of  the  President,  wrote  also 
on  the  subject  of  Liberty  and  Necessity. 

Some  of  the  writings  of  Dr.  E.  D.  Griffin,  are  also  sufficiently 
metaphysical. 

And  last.  Rev.  Henry  P.  Tappan,  formerly  a  minister  of  Pitts- 
field,  has  published  three  learned  volumes,  designed  to  establish  a 
system  in  opposition  to  that  of  President  Edwards;  and  it  is  writ- 
ten with  great  ability. 

These  various  works,  produced  by  Berkshire,  are,  I  believe, 
more  in  number,  and  in  value,  than  all  the  other  metaphysical 
books,  which  have  been  published  in  all  North  America. 


MISSIONARIES  FROM  BERKSHIRE. 

The  Missionaries  from  Berkshire  should  be  honorably  remem- 
bered. 

1.  The  first  was  Rev.  John  Sergeant,  who  first  visited  the 
Indians  at  Housatunnuk,  in  October,  1734,  and  died  amongst  them 
in  1749,  —  having  baptized  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  Indians, 
and  formed  a  church,  consisting  in  1749,  of  forty-two  members. 

2.  Mr.  Timothy  Woodbridge  was  his  worthy  assistant  teacher 
of  the  natives. 

3.  The  care  of  these  Indians  then  fell  to  Dr.  West,  and  to  Mr. 
John  Sergeant,  the  son  of  the  first  missionary. 

4.  Among  the  first  missionaries  to  India,  was  Rev.  Gordon 
Hall.  After  the  labors  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years,  he  died  in 
1826,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six. 

5.  Rev.  Daniel  White,  of  Pittsfield,  missionary  to  Africa, 
died  very  soon  after  his  arrival,  in  1837. 

6.  Other  missionaries  are  the  following — 


APPENDIX.  211 

Miss  Salome  Danforth,  Smyrna. 

Rev.  JosiAH  Brewer,  of  Tyringham,  at  Smyrna;  he  has  re- 
turned. 

Mr.  Nathan  Benjamin,  of  Williamstown;  at  Athens,  in 
Greece,  in  1838. 

Mrs.  Whitney,  whose  name  was  Mercy  Partridge,  of  Pitts- 
field;  at  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Mrs.  Harvey  R.  Hitchcock,  of  Great  Barrington;  Sandwich 
Islands. 

Mrs.  Rogers,  (was  Elizabeth  M.  Hitchcock,  Great  Barring- 
ton;)  Sandwich  Islands. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Brigham,  of  New-York;  went  as  a  missionary 
agent  to  South  America. 

Mr.  Daniel  S.  Butrick,  of  Windsor: 

Dr.  Elizur  Butler,  of  New  Marlborough: 

Mr.  Josiah  Hemmingway,  relieved: 

Mrs.  Wisner,  (Judith  Frissell,  of  Peru;)  all  among  the  Che- 
rokees. 

Mr.  Cyrus  Byington,  of  Stockbridge. 

Mrs.  Jones,  (Emily  G.  Robinson,  Lenox.) 

Mr.  Ebr.  Hotchkin,  of  Richmond,  and  Anna  Burnham,  among 
the  Choctaws. 

Mr.  Benton  Pixley,  of  Great  Barrington;  among  the  Osages. 

Mr.  Fred.  Ayer,  of  West  Stockbridge;  among  the  Ojibwas. 

Emily  Root,  of  Lenox;  to  the  New-York  Indians. 

Mr.  Hotchkin;  among  the  Choctaws. 

There  may  be  yet  others,  whose  names  have  escaped  inquiry. 


CATALOGUE   OF  BERKSHIRE   SOLDIERS  AND  CILVrLAIXS 

IN    THE    FRENCH    AND    REVOLUTIONARY    WARS. 

1.  Of  those  who  fell  in  the  field,  or  in  the  service  of  their 
country — 

Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  the  fouudcr  of  Williams'  College, 
killed  near  Lake  George,  Sept.  8,  1755. 

Capt.  Chapin,  killed  at  Williamstown,  July  11,  1756. 

Rev.  Whitman  Welch,  of  Williamstown,  chaplain,  died  near 
Quebec,  March,  1776. 


212  BEUKSUIHE   JUBILEE. 

Colonel  Mark  Hopkins,  of  Great  Barrington,  died  at  Wliite 
Plains,  Oct.  26,  1776,  aged  36. 

Colonel  Thomas  Williams,  of  Stockbridge,  died  at  Skenesbo- 
rough,  July  10,  1736,  aged  30. 

2.  Of  the  Chaplains  in  the  service  of  their  country,  besides  Mr, 
Welch,  already  mentioned — 

Rev.  Adonijah  Bidwell^  of  Tyringham,  at  the  capture  of 
Louisburg,  1745.     Died  June  2,  1784. 

Rev.  John  Norton,  captured  at  Fort  Massachusetts,  at  Hoosuc 
or  Adams,  in  1746. 

Rev.  Stephen  West,  chaplain  at  the  same  post  in  1758.  Died 
May  13,  1819,  aged  83. 

Rev.  George  Throop,  of  Otis,  chaplain  in  1776. 

Rev.  Thomas  Allen,  of  Pittsfield,  chaplain  at  Ticonderoga; 
also  a  participator  in  the  Battle  of  Bennington.  Died  Feb.  11, 
1810,  aged  67. 

Rev.  Daniel  Avery,  of  Windsor,  chaplain  in  1777.  Died  in 
1819. 

3.  Of  those  who  survived  the  war — 

Gen.  Joseph  Dwight,  of  Great  Barrington,  commanded  the 
artillery  at  Louisburg,  1745;  was  in  service  also  at  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  in  1756.     Died  June  9,  1765,  aged  62. 

Col.  John  Patterson,  of  Lenox,  marched  with  a  regiment  of 
minute  men  for  Boston,  in  1775,  the  next  morning  after  hearing  of 
the  Battle  of  Lexington.  He  assisted  in  the  capture  of  Burgoyne, 
in  1777. 

Gen.  John  Fellows,  of  Sheffield,  marched  to  Boston  at  the 
head  of  a  regiment  after  the  battle  of  Lexington;  he  fought  at 
White  Plains.     He  died  August  1,  1808,  aged  73. 

Capt.  Daniel  Nimham,  an  Indian,  commanded  a  company  of 
Stockbridge  Indians  at  White  Plains. 

Col.  Benjamin  Simonds,  of  Williamstown,  was  a  soldier  in  Fort 
Massachusetts  when  it  was  attacked,  in  1746.  Died  April  11, 
1807,  aged  81. 

Gen.  David  Rossiter,  of  Richmond,  commanded  a  company 
of  minute  men  at  Cambridge,  in  1775.  Died  March  8,  1811, 
aged  75. 


APPENDIX.  213 

Col.  Simon  Larned,  of  Pittsfield,  an  officer  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  and  in  the  war  of  1812.     Died  Nov.  16,  1817,  aged  61. 

Rev.  Cornelius  Jones,  first  minister  of  Sandisfield,  dismissed 
in  1761;  afterwards  a  wealthy  faimer  in  Rome  and  Skcnesbo- 
rough,  and  a  zealous  whig  ;  commanded  the  militia  of  Rome  at  the 
capture  of  Burgoyne. 

Col.  Oliver  Root,  of  Pittsfield,  a  soldier  in  the  French  war, 
was  with  Col.  Brown  at  Palatine,  in  1780.  Died  May  2,  1826 
aged  75. 

Col.  Joshua  Danforth,  of  Pittsfield,  an  officer  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war. 

Dr.  Timothy  Childs,  of  Pittsfield,  a  surgeon  in  the  army, 
marched  to  Cambridge  in  1775,  in  Capt.  David  Noble's  company 
of  minute  men.     Died  Feb.  20, 1821,  aged  73. 

4.  The  following  are  the  names  of  Captains  in  1775 — 

Charles  Dibble,  Lenox. 

Nathan  Watkins,  Partridgefield. 

Samuel  Sloane,  Williamstown. 

William  Riley,  Great  Barrington. 

Ebenezer  Smith,  New  Marlborough. 

Wm.  Goodrich,  Stockbridge. 

Noah  Allen,  Tyringham. 

Peter  Ingersoll,  Great  Barrington. 

Capt.  SouLE,  Sandisfield. 

Adjutant  Samuel  Brewer,  Tyringham. 


MR.   BARNAED^S   LETTER. 


Albany^  August  19,  1844. 
To  the  Honorable  Samuel  R.  Belts, 

My  Dear  Sir — I  beg  leave  to  communicate  to  you,  and,  in  this 
way,  to  the  Sons  of  Berkshire  who  will  assemble  at  Pitlsfield  on 
the  twenty-second  and  twenty-third  days  of  this  month,  the  deep 
regret  I  feel  at  being  deprived,  as  I  am,  at  the  last  moment,  by 
occurrences  which  I  could  not  foresee  or  avoid,  of  the  happiness 
of  being  present,  as  one  of  their  number,  and  mingling  my  con- 
gratulations, my  rejoicings,  my  sympathies,  with  theirs,  on  this 
interesting  and  affecting  occasion.  I  feel  this  deprivation  as  a 
personal  affliction.  It  is  an  occasion  which  had  been  long  antici- 
pated by  me,  and  impatiently  waited  for. 

The  idea  of  such  a  Jubilee  as  this,  to  be  conducted  in  the  man- 
ner of  this,  and  held  for  such  objects,  could  hardly  have  origina- 
ted in  any  other  period,  or  in  any  other  quarter  of  the  world. 
The  living  Sons  of  a  single  County  in  Massachusetts,  born  on  its 
rugged  soil,  and  nurtured  on  its  rough,  yet  fertile,  kind  and  genial 
bosom,  are  to  come  together  from  all  parts  of  our  wide-spread 
country  —  a  very  numerous  company  —  to  join  hands  around  an 
altar,  erected  in  the  land  of  their  nativity,  by  themselves,  and  ded- 
icated to  friendship,  to  gratitude,  to  patriotism,  and  to  religion. 
They  are  to  hear  a  sermon  delivered  by  one  of  their  number,  and 
an  oration  pronounced  by  another,  and  speeches  will  be  made,  and 
poems  recited,  around  the  whole  circle.  The  fountains  of  all 
hearts  in  that  generous  circle  will  be  broken  up,  and  a  libation 
will  be  poured  out,  nobler  and  purer  than  any  and  all  that  He- 
brew, Greek  or  Roman  ever  offered.  It  is  a  sacrifice  to  be  made 
to  mother  earth  on  the  spot  whence  the  dust  of  their  bodies  was 
taken.  It  is  an  offering  of  thanksgiving  to  be  made  by  the  chil- 
dren of  one  large  and  happy  family,  gathered  once  more  before 
they  die,  under  the  spreading  roof-tree  of  the  paternal  mansion. 
It  is  a  solemn  procession  to  be  made  around  moss-grown  graves, 
tenanted  by  the  honored  and  still  beloved  dead.     All  the  gene- 


APPENDIX.  215 

rous  emotions,  all  the  pious  feelinc^s,  all  the  tender  sympathies, all 
the  undying  sensibilities  of  the  human  heart,  will  be  touched,  and 
brought  into  full  play,  during  the  simple  and  beautiful  ceremonies 
of  this  occasion. 

And  another  order  of  sensations  also  are  likely  to  be  aroused. 
While  the  living  Sons  of  Berkshire  have  been  growing  up,  the 
world  has  not  been  standing  still,  and  they  themselves  have  not 
been  idle.  Science,  and  the  Arts  of  civilization  ;md  of  life,  and 
the  knowledge  of  truth  and  of  God,  have  been  making  progress. 
Physical  and  moral,  and  intellectual,  and  religious  cultivation  has 
been  advanced.  Berkshire  itself  shows  how  the  rough  places  have 
been  made  smooth,  and  how  the  hills  have  been  carried  into  the 
plains.  Her  rich  vallies  laugh  in  the  sun,  and  the  slopes  of  her  lofty 
ridges  wave  in  yellow  corn,  or  in  green  pasture.  The  comfortable 
dwelling,  the  rich  mansion,  the  school  house,  the  college,  and  Chris- 
tian spires  out  of  number,  diversify  and  adorn  her  beautiful  land- 
scapes. These  ha\' e  long  been  her  heritage,  but  improved  and  ex- 
tended by  her  care;  and  now,  unpromising  as  seemed  her  broken  ter- 
ritory for  such  an  enterprise,  she  is  girt  with  a  pathway  of  iron,  and 
traversed  daily,  and  almost  hourly,  with  the  speed  of  the  wind,  by 
snorting  and  furious  steeds,  of  human  generation,  with  ribs  and 
sinews  and  hoofs  of  iron  and  steel.  And  all  around  her,  and  far 
distant  from  her  —  far  as  the  footsteps  of  her  children  have  wan- 
dered— improvement  has  been  going  on.  The  light  of  Christiani- 
ty and  of  liberty  has  been  dillused.  Good  morals  and  good  prin- 
ciples, we  trust,  have  gone  along  with  the  increase  of  physical  fa- 
cilities and  comforts.  While  the  earth  has  been  subdued,  and  the 
powers  of  nature  have  been  tasked  to  fill  our  horn  with  plenty, 
and  make  our  cup  overflow  with  blessings,  we  trust  that  good  will 
to  men,  and  peace  on  earth  have  been  steadily  promoted.  And, 
in  every  good  word  and  work,  at  home,  and  remote  from  home, 
the  Sons  of  Berkshire  —  aye,  and  the  Daughters  of  Berkshire  not 
less  than  they  —  may  claim  to  have  had  their  full  share.  In  sci- 
ence, in  literature,  in  arts,  in  trades,  in  professions,  in  politics, 
they  have  been  among  the  foremost  men  of  their  time.  In  their 
ranks  have  been  found  eminent  writers,  eminent  poets,  eminent 
lawyers,  eminent  doctors,  eminent  divines,  eminent  profcs.sors, 
eminent  artists,  eminent  judges,  eminent  orators,  eminent  .senators, 
eminent  statesmen  —  and,  with  all,  eminently  honest  men.  There 
is  scarcely  an  honored  station  in  life  which  has  not  been  filled 

AA 


216  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

and  adorned  from  their  number.  Many  of  these  will  be  fotind  at 
the  gathering  of  the  Jubilee;  and  every  heart  there  will  beat  with 
honest  and  just  pride  in  the  presence  of  such  recollections,  and 
such  a  consciousness,  as  the  occasion  cannot  fail  to  call  forth. 
And  those  who  will  contribute  most  to  the  noble  enjoyments  and 
sacred  pleasures  of  the  occasion,  not  so  much  by  what  they 
may  there  say  and  do,  as  by  what  they  have  been,  and  what  they 
are — by  the  good  they  have  done  in  the  world,  and  the  conside- 
ration and  fame  they  have  acquired  —  these  are  entitled  to  know 
and  feci  —  and  in  the  depths  of  their  hearts  they  will  feel  —  the 
fullest  and  most  exquisite  relish  of  delight. 

The  very  occasion  itself  will  demonstrate  that  Berkshire  has 
produced  and  given  to  the  world,  something  of  ability  and  learn- 
ing worth  being  proud  of.  The  Sons  of  Genius  will  be  found 
there,  among  the  Sons  of  Berkshire.  Eloquent  lips  will  speak 
in  prose  and  verse;  sound  instruction  will  be  communicated;  pious 
lessons  will  be  inculcated;  glowing  thoughts  that  burn  into  men's 
minds  will  be  uttered.  The  company  assembledt  here  —  they 
themselves  go  away  wuser  and  better  than  they  came. 

I  repeat  that  I  feel  it  as  a  personal  affliction,  that  I  am  to  be 
deprived  of  the  happiness  of  "attending  this  Jubilee.  And  since  it 
must  be  so,  I  wish,  in  this  way,  to  put  in  my  claim  to  be  num- 
bered among  the  Sons  of  Berkshire  —  content  to  take  my  place 
among  the  humblest  of  the  number,  if  only  I  may  be  remembered 
as  one  of  them.  I  was  born  in  Berkshire  County,  and  I  am  proud 
of  the  place  of  my  birth.  I  am  proud  of  the  great  and  good  names 
that  have  sprung  from  her  soil.  I  wish  to  be  allowed  to  claim 
that  affinity  to  these  names  which  is  due  to  the  accident  of  my 
birth  in  the  same  territory.  The  soil  that  has  been  so  fruitful  of 
good  men  and  good  women  —  certainly  I  think  I  may  be  allowed 
to  rejoice  that  I  was  born  upon  it.  And  this  is  not  all  I  have  to 
rejoice  in  towards  Berkshire  County.  My  father,  who  is  still  liv- 
ing in  perfect  health,  at  eighty-seven,  was  not  a  native  of  Berk- 
shire. He  married  there,  resided  there  a  few  years,  and  then, 
when  I  was  a  very  young  gentleman,  not  yet  out  of  the  cradle,  re- 
turned to  his  father's  home,  and  the  place  of  his  nativity  in  Con- 
necticut. When  I  was  of  age  to  begin  my  classical  studies,  if 
ever  I  was  to  begin  them,  he  found  himself  an  inhabitant  of  west- 
ern New-York,  long  before  the  wilderness  there  had  blossomed  in- 
to a  garden  as  it  has  since  done,  with  reduced  and  limited  means- 


APPENDIX.  217 

But  what  then?  There  was  Berkshire;  and  Lenox  Academy  and 
Williams'  College  were  there;  and  there  as  much  good  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  Mathematics,  and  Natural  Philosophy  could  be  had,  as 
might  suffice  a  young  man  of  humble  pretensions,  and  at  a  very 
moderate  cost,  as  those  institutions  were  among  people  of  simple, 
unostentatious  and  unexpensive  habits.  Thus  I  became  indebted 
to  Berkshire  for  my  academic  and  collegiate  education.  And 
I  have  one  thing  more  to  thank  Berkshire  for  —  the  chief  thing 
of  all  —  the  blessing  of  all  blessings  —  for  my  mother.  She  was 
a  native  of  that  County,  of  a  family  not  unknown  or  undistin- 
guished among  those  who  may  meet  at  this  Jubilee,  and  she  is  still 
living  at  a  very  advanced  age.  May  God  bless  Berkshire  forever, 
for  my  Mother! 

Quis  talia  fando  temperet  u  lachr3Tnis  7 

Through  you,  my  dear  sir,  and  in  this  way,  as  I  cannot  do  it  in 
person,  I  beg  to  present  to  the  Sons  of  Berkshire  assembled  at 
their  Jubilee,  my  respectful  greeting,  my  congratulations,  and  my 
hearty  good  wishes,  and  to  subscribe  myself, 

Their  friend,  associate  and  brother, 

D.  D.  BARNARD. 


A  BEIIKSIIIRE  FAMILY  SCENE. 


[Having  incidentally  heard  a  friend  mention  one  of  the  many 
family-gatherings  brought  together  by  the  Jubilee,  it  occured  to 
the  Committee  that  there  might  be  a  picture  of  it  preserved,  with- 
out rendering  what  is  sacred,  unduly  public,  so  that,  should  another 
such  occasion  occur  after  this  generation  is  gone  to  the  dead,  it 
might  be  seen  what  made  the  children  of  Berkshire  love  their 
homes  so  tenderly,  and  what  kind  of  families  we  have  here.  Ac- 
cordingly the  Committee  WTote  a  note  to  a  friend,  requesting  him 
to  furnish  them  with  a  sketch  of  the  picture.  They  believe  that  no 
heart  will  require  an  apology  for  its  insertion,  after  having  read  it.] 

Rev.  J.  Todd, 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir — Some  time  prior  to  the  celebration  of 
the  Berkshire  Jubilee,  I  was  requested  by  a  friend  in  New- York  to 
prepare  an  account  of  its  doings  for  publication  in  one  of  the 
monthly  magazines.  Without  promising  to  do  so,  I  nevertheless 
made  my  arrangements  to  present  him,  so  far  as  I  could,  with  a 
faithful  picture  of  what  might  take  place  on  that  occasion.  But 
when  the  days  of  the  Jubilee  had  passed  by,  and  that  which  had 
so  long  been  a  thing  of  anticipation  became  one  of  memory,  I 
found  it  impossible  to  comply  with  his  request.  The  Berkshire 
Jubilee  had  indeed  come  and  gone.  But  that  which  it  had  brought 
with  it,  unlike  what  I  had  looked  for,  could  not  be  imparted  to 
others.  True,  there  were  the  crowd  of  joyous  home-comers, — 
there  were  the  addresses,  and  songs,  and  speeches,  and  toasts, — 
there  was  the  warm  welcome  of  children  back  to  the  old  mansion, 
and  the  glad  greeting  of  brothers  and  sisters  long  separated, — but  all 
these,  excellent  and  beautiful  as  they  were,  were  not, — nor  was  any 
thing  that  can  be  told  in  words — the  Jubilee.  That  was  far  down 
deep  in  the  heart's  inner  sanctuary, — a  thing  sacred,  which  might 
not  be  imparted  to  others,  and  with  which  "  a  stranger  intermed- 
dleth  not."  I  know  not  that  it  can  be  better  described  than  in  the 
language  of  a  hard,  browned-faced  old  man,  than  whom  few"  are 


APPENDIX.  219 

less  used  to  the  melting  mood, — on  the  second  evening  of  the  cele- 
bration,— "  I  don't  know  how  it  is,"  said  he,  "  but  I  have  lelt  all 
day  as  if  I  could  sit  down  and  weep,  and  as  if  it  would  be  manly 
to  do  so." 

In  our  family,  the  ten  living  children  met  at  home  for  the  first 
time  in  seventeen  years.  The  old  mansion  in  which  eleven  of  us, 
one  of  whom  is  not,  were  born  and  brought  up,  opened  its  doors 
to  receive  us  back,  and  father  and  mother,  still  living  in  green  old 
age,  gave  us  the  warm  welcome.  Some  of  us  had  gone  away 
early  in  life,  and  had  formed  new  connections  and  found  other 
homes  in  the  far  west;  while  others  had  remained  under  the  shade 
of  the  old  roof-tree,  raising  up  new  plants  in  the  naiive  soil.  New 
ties  were  around  us,  a  new  generation  was  springing  up  in  our 
pathway,  and  the  cares  of  life  had  long  pressed  heavily  upon  our 
hearts,  but  at  the  sight  of  the  old  homestead  age  seemed  to  renew 
itself,  and  we  all  once  more  became  children.  Why  should  we 
not  ?  Here  was  the  old  mansion  with  its  rooms  and  chambers,  its 
long  halls  and  winding  balustrades,  just  as  it  was  in  our  childhood. 
Here  were  the  old  thorns  by  the  door-step,  and  the  long  garden  in 
the  rear;  the  shrubbery  in  the  court-yard,  and  the  a])ple  trees  in 
the  orchard;  the  barns  on  whose  mows  of  hay  we  tumbled  in  mer- 
riment; the  w^ood-house  chamber,  the  shed,  the  cistern,  the  well; 
all  unchanged,  or  changed  only  as  our  own  hearts  had  changed 
by  passing  years.  And  our  parents  too,  the  same  still,  only  dear- 
er to  our  love  as  age  had  gently  imprinted  its  signet  upon  them; 
w^e  saw  all,  if  not  in  the  same  bright  sunshine  of  childhood,  yt-l  in 
a  softer,  milder  light,  like  evening  twilight  of  autumn,  and  felt 
again  like  children  subdued  and  chastened  into  a  (luiet  ghuhuss. 

I  might  extend  the  picture,  and  tell  of  our  many  joyous  meet- 
ings during  that  whole  week  of  the  Jubilee,  —  of  tlie  revival  of 
old  recollections,  of  revisiting  wonted  haunts,  of  welcoming  back 
former  schoolmates  long  forgotten,  of  recounting  feats  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  play-ground,  —  but  I  could  not  do  it  justice.  It  was 
one  of  those  bright  spots  in  life,  which,  like  the  island  beyond  the 
gates  of  Hercules  to  the  early  voyagers,  lives  forever  in  the  me- 
mory of  those  who  had  seen  it,  but  a  description  of  which  no 
words  can  convey  to  others. 

Soon  after  we  came  together,  it  was  proposed  by  some  one  of 
our  number,  that  some  memorial  should  be  made  of  our  home 
meetino-.     The  suggestion  met  with  universal  acceptance,  and  after 


220  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

a  little  consultation,  it  was  concluded  to  present  our  parents  with 
a  family  Bible,  in  which  each  child's  name  should  be  inscribed. 
A  bcautilul  Oxford  Bible  was  accordingly  procured,  and  Sabbath 
evening,  after  prayers,  was  the  time  fixed  upon  for  presenting  it, 
that  being  the  last  day  we  were  to  be  together. 

That  Sabbath  was  a  bright  day.  The  morning  broke  over  the 
hills,  pouring  its  glad  light  upon  mountain-side  and  valley,  just  as 
it  used  to  do  to  our  childish  vision.  Upon  all  nature  there  had 
fallen  the  same  old-fashioned  Sunday  quiet,  and  the  whole  land- 
scape seemed  to  be  rendering  silent  worship  to  the  great  Creator. 
Not  a  sight  met  the  eye,  not  a  sound  came  upon  the  air,  which 
was  not  in  harmony  with  the  sacredness  of  the  day.  Within  doors, 
too,  all  seemed  like  the  Sabbaths  long  past,  for  ours  had  been  the 
Puritan  Sabbath,  a  day  of  rest  from  all  worldly  toil  and  care  and 
thought,  when  we  were  made  to  feel  that  one  stage  more  of  life's 
journey  had  been  passed,  and  that  we  were  one  day  nearer  to  our 
eternal  home. 

We  all  attended  the  public  religious  services,  worshipping  again 
in  the  same  church  where  each  in  turn  had  received  the  seal  of 
the  covenant,  and  to  which  our  feet  had  been  directed  from  earliest 
childhood.  How  familiar  to  the  eye  was  that  ancient  sanctuary, 
and  though  one  missed  here  and  there  faces  which  were  ever  seen 
in  God's  house,  how  fresh  came  back  to  the  heart  the  hallowed 
scenes  and  teachings  of  departed  years  !  Many  an  eye  filled  with 
tears,  and  I  believe  many  a  heart  was  made  better,  by  the  lessons 
which  memory  brought  back  to  us  during  that  day's  worship. 

As  the  sacred  hours  wore  away,  one  and  another  of  the  children 
and  grandchildren  dropped  in  from  their  own  homes,  until  once 
again  of  a  Sabbath  evening  we  were  all  assembled  under  the  pa- 
ternal roof.  According  to  our  custom  from  childhood,  we  met 
for  family  prayers  in  the  west  parlor  of  the  old  mansion.  As  we 
gathered  at  the  call,  from  hall  and  chamber  to  the  wonted  place, 
the  full,  rich  sunlight  of  a  summer's  afternoon  streamed  through 
the  thick  blossoming  foliage  around  the  windows,  and  the  Sabbath 
quiet, — the  quiet  of  a  New-England  Sabbath, — seemed  to  have 
brooded  over  every  heart.  Our  mother  read  aloud  from  the  Bible, 
and  middle-aged  men,  grown  stern  amid  the  cares  and  business  of 
life,  and  mothers,  whose  homes  and  loved  ones  were  far  away, 
became  children  again  in  the  hearing  of  that  voice,  whose  tones 
from  infancy  to  raaturcr  years  had  taught  them  lessons  of  piety 


APPENDIX.  ,  22l 

from  God's  Holy  Word.  A  hymn,  hnstily  written  but  a  few  hours 
before  by  one  of  the  daughters,  and  which  I  transcribe  unaltered, 
was  then  sung  with  an  interest  and  depth  of  feeling  that  language 
cannot  portray. 

HYMN. 

Once  more  a  heartfelt  greeting, 

In  the  house  which  gave  us  birth  ! 
Once  more  a  Sabbath  meeting 

Around  our  fathers  hearth  ! 
Now,  while  our  sins  confessing 

We  bend  the  knee  in  prayer 
To  heav'n,  we  send  our  blessing 

For  being  gather'd  here  ! 

And  when  in  prayer  we're  bending, 

Will  not  sweet  spirits  come, 
From  the  blest  skies  descending. 

To  join  the  group  at  home  1 
(Green  be  the  turf  above  them  ! 

Soft  be  their  lowly  bed  ! 
There  still  are  hearts  which  love  them, 

Our  bright,  our  early  dead  !) 

We  thank  thee  that  our  parents 

In  green  old  age  abide. 
And  that  once  more  we  gather 

Around  them  side  by  side  ! 
Oh,  may  the  lessons  taught  us 

In  days  long  since  gone  by. 
By  faithful  hearts  deep-cherish'd, 

Lead  to  the  home  on  high  ! 

Each  one  of  us  hath  taken 

Life's  weary  burden  up  ! 
Each  one  of  us  partaken 

Of  sorrow's  bitter  cup  ; — 
Some  o'er  the  grave  low  bending, 

Have  hid  our  treasures  there. 
While  up  to  heaven  sending 

The  agonizing  prayer ! 


222  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

And  now,  as  soon  we  sever, 

Each  to  Jiis  weary  way, 
From  mem'ry's  tablets  never 

Shall  pass  this  blessed  day. 
And  oh,  when  each  succeeding, 

We  lay  us  down  to  rest. 
Through  the  dear  Saviour's  pleading, 

May  we  meet  among  the  blest ! 

After  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  w^e  knelt  in  prayer.  It  was  at 
the  same  family  altar,  where  the  earliest  vows  of  the  forgiven  had 
been  recorded,  where  the  noblest  aspirations  of  youth  had  been 
consecrated  to  Heaven,  and  where  the  faith  of  Christian  parents 
had  committed  to  God  their  departing  children,  to  be  guarded 
against  the  dangers  of  the  world  and  kept  holy  and  undefiled.  It 
was  an  hour  which  those  who  were  present  can  never  forget,  for 
all  the  events  of  long  past  years,  which  memory  has  gathered  as 
her  treasures,  were  again  opened  to  the  heart.  At  the  close  of 
the  prayer,  the  eldest  of  the  group,  himself  a  man  passing  the  me- 
ridian of  life,  taking  the  Bible  from  its  envelope,  laid  it  upon  the 
knees  of  our  parents,  remarking  only,  that  "  at  a  meeting  such  as 
we  could  never  expect  again,  it  was  deemed  fitting  to  have  some 
memorial  as  a  token  of  respect  and  affection  to  our  parents ;  that  for 
this  purpose  we  had  chosen  the  Bible  as  the  most  meet  emblem  of 
what  we  felt ;  and  that  as  it  was  the  book  they  had  given  to  each 
one  of  us  as  a  guide  in  our  early  years,  so  we  returned  it  to  them 
as  the  staff  of  their  age."  I  need  not  add  that  the  last  scene  was 
the  most  touching,  and  the  more  so  that  it  had  been  entirely  un- 
expected. 

The  twilight  of  the  evening  was  fading  away  before  the  group 
broke  up.  As  we  were  rising  to  go,  our  mother  remarked  upon 
the  cause  of  gratitude  which  the  situation  of  each  one  of  the  chil- 
dren in  life  gave  to  all.  "  They  owe  it  all  to  you,"  said  the 
father.  "  No !  "  was  the  mother's  reply,  "  they  owe  it  all  to  this 
blessed  book,  the  Bible." 

I  am,  dear  sir. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 


THE  LAST  CHAPTER  OF  THE  CHRONICLES  OF 
THE  BERKSHHIE  JUBILEE. 


BY    CATHARINE    M.    SEDGWICK. 


Now  George,  of  the  tribe  of  Briggs,  hchv^  of  a  iroodly  slaturr, 
and  moreover  having  an  upright  mind  and  a  pleasant  speech, 
gained  the  hearts  of  his  brethren. 

And  the  dwellers  in  Massachusetts,  chose  him  to  be  their  head 
and  chief  ruler.  And  George  dwelt  in  the  goodly  land  of  Berk- 
shire, and  his  dwelling  was  in  that  upper  valley  of  Ihe  Housa- 
tonic,  which  our  fathers  bought  of  tiie  red  men  and  called  it 
Pittsfield. 

Now  in  the  first  year  of  the  magistracy  of  George,  a  good 
spirit  entered  into  the  hearts  of  the  Sons  of  Berkshire,  both  of 
those  who  dwelt  in  the  homes  of  their  fathers,  and  of  those  who 
were  dispersed  abroad. 

And  to  these  last  came  visions  and  dreams,  and  the  homes  of 
their  childhood  rose  before  them,  and  they  saw  in  vision  the  green 
and  dewy  hills  of  Berkshire,  with*  their  maple  groves,  and  the 
wide  shadowing  elm  which  hath  no  equal  for  beauty  and  graceful- 
ness among  all  the  trees  that  the  Lord  hath  made ;  and  also  the 
firs  and  the  pines  of  their  mountain  tops  ;  and  the  smiling  vallies 
standing  thick  with  corn,  and  the  pasture  and  the  orchanl,  and 
the  skating  and  the  coasting  ground. 

And  there  appeared  before  them  in  vision  also,  tiio  fair  dau'^^h- 
ters  of  their  people  even  as  they  had  sei'U  them  in  the  freshness 
and  the  beauty  of  their  early  days. 

And  the  ripple  of  the  lakes  sparkling  in  tlnir  vallies,  and  the 

gushing  of  the  streams  from  their  hills  was  in  their  ears,  like  far 

off  music. 

BB 


226  BERKSHIRE    JUBILEE. 

And  their  kindred  who  had  been  galhercd  to  their  fathers,  the 
mother  who  had  rocked  their  cradle,  and  he  wlio  had  toiled  for 
their  youth,  and  brothers,  and  sisters,  and  friends,  rose  before 
them,  and  beckoned  them  to  the  land  in  which  they  were  born. 

And  their  hearts  were  faint  within  them  till  a  goodly  purpose 
was  breathed  into  them  and  they  spake  with  one  voice,  and  said, 
"  Hath  not  the  Lord  given  us  rest  on  every  side."  Now  we  will 
proclaim  a  Jubilee  ! — we  will  go  up  to  our  Jerusalem  !  We  will 
worship  in  the  Temples  of  our  fathers  !  We  will  kiss  the  sod 
that  covers  the  graves  of  our  kindred  ;  and  we  will  sit  ourselves 
down  in  the  old  places  where  their  shadows  will  pass  before  us  ! 

And  we  will  rejoice  and  make  merry  with  our  brethren  ;  and 
Memory  and  Hope  shall  be  our  pleasant  ministers.  And  we  will 
lay  our  hearts  together  and  stir  up  the  mouldering  embers  of  old 
friendships  till  the  fire  burns  within  us,  and  this,  even  this  sacred 
lire  will  we  transmit  to  our  childrens'  children. 

And  even  as  they  said,  so  did  they;  and  in  the  summer  solstice 
with  one  heart  and  one  mind  they  came  together. 

The  pilgrims  from  afar  and  the  sojourners  at  home.  Even  from 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  came  they  ;  and  from  the  yet  farther 
country  of  the  Missouri — and  from  the  land  of  the  sun,  even  from 
the  south  land,  and  from  all  the  goodly  lands  round  about  Massa- 
chusetts. 

And  strangers  who  honored  them,  and  whom  they  honored, 
also  came  ;  not  intermedtllint^  with  their  joy,  but  greatly  aug- 
menting the  sum  thereof. 

And  they  gathered  together,  a  multitude  of  people,  old  men 
and  elder  women,  young  men  and  fair  young  maidens  and  much 
children — a  very  great  company  were  they. 

They  came  not,  like  the  queen  of  Sheba,  "  bearing  spices,  and 
gold  in  abundance,  and  precious  stones,"  but  instead  of  these — 
sound  minds  v/ell  instructed — hearts  of  gold — loyalty  to  the  land 
of  their  fatheis — imperishable  friendships — religious  faith — all 
pearls  of  great  price. 

And  a  great  heart  was  in  the    people  of  Pittsfield,  and  they 


APPENDIX.  227 

opened  the  doors  of  their  pleasant  dwellings  and  bade  their 
brethren  enter  therein.  And  they  spread  fine  linen  on  their  beds, 
and  they  covered  their  tables  with  the  fat  of  the  land  ;  for  the 
Lord  had  greatly  blessed  the  people  of  Pittsfield. 

And  they  said  to  all  their  brethren,,come  now  and  enter  in,  and 
freely  take  of  our  abundance,  for  lo  have  we  not  spread  our  ta- 
bles for  you  ;  and  hath  not  the  angel  of  slet-p  dressed  our  Ix-iU, 
that  our  brethren  may  sleep  therein  '? 

And  the  faces  of  their  brethren  shone  and  they  entered  in  ;  and 
they  said,  it  was  a  true  report  we  heard  of  thee,  thy  land  doth 
excel,  and  thou  hast  greatly  increased  the  riches  and  the  beauty 
thereof.  Corn  aboundeth  where,  in  the  time  of  our  fathers,  the 
ground  was  barren.  Thy  flocks  and  thy  herds  are  multiplied. 
Many  goodly  dwellings,  such  as  were  not  aforetime  hast  thou  set 
up.  Thou  hast  enlarged  the  bountls  of  thy  iVuitful  fields,  and  thou 
hast  gemmed  thy  gardens  with  flowers.  Walks  hast  thou  laid  out 
and  planted  them,  and  thou  hast  done  well  to  cherish  that  stately 
elm,  the  monument  of  the  past,  the  last  relic  of  the  forests  where 
the  red  men  hunted. 

And  moreover,  here  do  we  behold  a  wonder  such  as  Solomon 
in  all  his  wisdom  conceived  not  of,  when  he  said,  "  there  is  noth- 
ing new  under  the  sun."  Here  in  this  land,  the  wilderness  to  which 
our  fathers  came  but  as  yesterday,  have  ye  builded  a  work  which 
was  not  done,  nay,  nor  was  it  so  much  as  conceived  of,  by  the  cun- 
ning artificers  of  the  east,  nor  by  the  many  handed  labor  of  Egypt, 
nor  by  the  art  of  Greece  ;  and  even  now  is  the  report  of  its  pon- 
derous engines  and  passing  multitudes  in  our  ear  ! 

And  many  words  were  spoken  cheering  the  heart  and  lighting 
up  the  countenance. 

And  all  the  people  went  up  together  into  the  temple  of  the 
Lord.  And  there  spake  unto  them  Mark,  the  son  of  Archibald, 
and  this  was  the  same  Archibald,  albeit  a  tiller  of  the  ground, 
honored  among  his  brethren  of  the  lower  valley,  for  he  loved 
much,  and  was  an  honest  man,  but  now  he  was  gathrred  to  his 
fathers,  and  Mark  his  son  was  set  up  to  be  a  light  in  the  land  sind 
an  instructor  of  the  young  men.  And  his  brethren  had  chosen 
him  to  speak  unto  them,  he  being  of  an  excellent  spirit  and  know- 


228  BEttKSHIRK    JUBILEK. 

edge,  and  understanding,  and  noted  (or  showing  of  hard  senten- 
ces and  dissolving  of  doubts.  And  he  spake  wisely  and  he  greatly 
pleased  his  brethren  :  are  not  his  words  written  in  this  Book  of 
the  Jubilee? 

And  William,  the  son  of  that  priest  of  the  valiant  heart,  who 
in  the  days  of  the  oppression  of  the  Kings,  ministered  unto  the 
people  of  Pittsfield,  he  also  spake  unto  his  brethren. 

And  Joshua  of  the  tribe  of  Spencer,  a  wise  man  and  learned  in 
the  law  spake  to  them.  And  he  brought  forth  to  them  from  their 
old  Chronicles  lost  and  forgotten  treasures,  and  he  pleased  them 
with  the  sayings  and  doings  of  their  fathers. 

And  a  goodly  tent  was  spread,  and  they  did  eat  together,  both 
men  and  women,  with  great  gladness,  but  they  drank  not  save  of 
the  pure  water  of  their  hill-country,  for  George  their  ruler, 
said  unto  them,  touch  not  the  wine-cup,  for  there  be  of  our 
brethren  who  have  perverted  this  good  gift,  and  drunk  of  it  to 
tlier  own  destruction,  and  thereby  causing  us  shame,  and  also  much 
sorrow — threfore  w^e  will  put  away  this  evil  from  among  us. 

And  they  listened  to  the  voice  of  their  ruler,  for  they  loved  him, 
and  they  did  the  thing  he  desired. 

And  now  all  that  Joshua  spake,  and  also  the  sayings  of  the 
wise  and  the  w^tty  men,  and  the  speech  of  the  eloquent,  and  the 
salutation  of  the  stranger,  and  the  word  spoken  by  the  simple  and 
loving  heart,  and  the  song  sung  to  the  stringed  instruments,  be- 
hold they  are  WTitten  in  this  Book  of  the  Jubilee  ! 

Now  the  time  of  separation  came,  and  they  blessed  the  Lord 
for  that  he  had  greatly  blessed  the  land  of  their  fathers. 

And  a  spirit  of  meditation  fell  upon  them,  and  they  said  in  their 
hearts,  our  days  on  the  earth  are  a  shadow  and  there  is  none 
abiding. 

One  generation  appeareth  and  passeth  away,  and  another  cometh 
but  the  good  that  we  do  that  shall  remain. 

Have  we  not  this  day  listened  to  the  words  of  Mark  and  Joshua  ^ 
and  have  we  not  delighted  to  honor  George,  whom  our  brethren 
have  set  up  to  be  a  ruler  over  us  1     Whence  come  they  forth — 


APPENDIX.  229 

Mark,  Joshua  and  George  ?  Not  from  the  rich,  nor  the  learned— 
lo  did  not  their  fathers  labor  among  us  even  with  their  hajids  ! 
Now  seeing  this  is  the  order  of  our  land  shall  we  not  call  on  the 
son  of  the  humble  man  to  be  diligent— shall  we  nut  multiply  for 
him  instruction,  and  open  to  him  the  fountains  of  knowled^'e,  and 
remove  far  from  him  vanity  and  corruption  I 

We  pass  away,  but  our  hills  and  our  vallies  they  remain — in 
beauty  hath  the  Lord  made  them.  His  creations  are  fair  to  look 
upon — shall  not  the  work  of  our  hands  l)e  in  harmony  with  the 
Lord's  work  ? 

Therefore  where  the  hand  of  the  feller  has  Irlh  d  the  goodly 
trees  we  will  plant  and  water,  and  the  Lord  will  surely  give  us 
increase. 

And  when  we  build  our  temples,  whether  they  be  for  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Lord  our  God,  or  for  the  instruction  of  our  young 
men  and  maidens,  or  for  the  meeting  of  the  rulers  and  judu'es  of 
our  land,  we  will  seek  a  goodly  pattern  therefor  of  men  cunning 
in  art. 

And  also  for  the  houses  in  which  we  dwell,  and  the  barns,  and 
whatever  is  builded  with  man's  hands  will  we  ask  a  pattern  of 
men  skilled  in  these  matters,  lest  following  the  devices  and  de- 
sires of  the  ignorant  we  mar  and  burden  the  lovely  land  the  Lord 
hath  given  us. 

And  our  bridges,  and  our  fences  also  shall  be  pleasant  to  the 
eye — and  order  and  neatness  shall  be  manifested  about  our  habita- 
tions— and  in  all  these  things  will  we  heed  the  warning  which 
Benjamin,  of  the  tribe  of  Franklin,  hath  given  us  in  the  parable 
of  the  "  speckled  axe,"  thereby  warning  us  not  to  set  down  con- 
tent with  imperfection. 

And  we  will  enlarge  our  gardens  and  plant  therein  the  frtiits  and 
flowers  of  divers  countries  ;  and  our  daughters  shall  tend  them, 
as  Eve  dressed  the  garden  in  the  days  of  her  innocency. 

And  also  we  will  not  forget  our  burial-places  where  our  kindred 
lay,  and  where  we  shall  soon  be  gathered  among  them.  We  will 
extend  the  borders  thereof.  We  will  plant  around  them  trei-sand 
fashion  walks  ;  that  our  young  men  and  maidens  may    love   to 


230  IIKUKSHIRE    JUHILKE. 

come  thither  to  think  on  their  lathers.  And  there  shall  be  seats 
there  lor  the  old  man  at  noon-tide  to  sit  under  the  cool  shade  and 
meditate  on  the  Lil'e  and  Immortality  which  the  Lord  our  Saviour 
hath  broui^ht  to  light. 

And  morevoer,  we  will  plant  flowers  there,  that  our  little  chil- 
dren may  come  to  pluck  them,  and  the  soft  music  of  their  feet  may 
be  on  the  sod  that  covers  our  graves. 

And  this  good  and  much  more  did  they  purpose  to  the  land  they 
loved — even  the  pleasant  land  of  Berkshire. 

And  when  the  hour  of  parting  came,  the  bands  of  their  early  love 
were  straitened.     And    they  said  with  one  accord,  henceforth 

AND  FOREVER  WE  ARE  BRETHREN  ! 


NAMKS 

OF 

EMI&iUNT  SONS 

AS  RECORDED  IN  THE  REGISTRY. 

[A  Registry  was  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  names  of 
those  who  had  gone  out,  and  still  resiile  out  from  Berkshire.  But 
owing  to  the  immense  crowd,  and  to  the  fact  that  almost  every 
moment  of  time  was  occupied  in  some  public  exercise,  but  com- 
paratively a  small  part  of  those  present,  recorded  iheir  names.  In 
copying  from  the  Registry,  we  have  omitted  all  who  now  live  in 
the  County.  We  shall  be  agreeably  sur])rised  if  there  arc  not 
mistakes  in  the  names.  They  were  written  in  great  haste,  and 
many  of  them  so  illegibly,  that,  though  we  have  been  assisted  to 
decipher  them  by  the  bright  eyes  of  two  of  lierkshire's  fair  daugh- 
ters, we  do  not  feel  confident  in  all  our  spelling. — Ed.  J 


234 


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APPENDIX. 


237 


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APPENDIX. 


239 


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IIDEX. 


View  of  Pittsfield,  (in  part,) ^***2 

Committee  of  Publication  appointed, 5 

Introduction, 7 

New- York  Committee, j  3 

Berkshire  Committee, j ^ 

Auxiliary  Town  Committees, Kj 

Financial  Committee, 27 

Committee  of  Reception, j  7 

Officers  of  the  Jubilee, j7 

FIRST   DAY. 

Reception  Meeting — Speech  of  Mr.  Gold, ]9 

Mr.  Cook's  Response, 21 

The  Hill — Order  of  Procession, 24 

Marshal  and  Assistant  Marshals, 24 

Public  Exercises — Anthem,  Prayer,  &c., 25 

View  of  Williamstown, 28 

Sermon,  by  Dr.  Hopkins, 29 

Poem,  by  Dr.  Allen, g7 

Notes  on  the  Poem, gg 

Public  Exercises — Hymn, 95 

The  Mother- land's  Home  Call,  Poem  by  W.  P.  Palmer, 97 

Response  to  the  Mother- land's  Home  Call, 99 

Public  Exercises — Doxology  and  Benediction, 99 

SECOND  DAY. 

Ode^  by  Judge  Bacon, jOi 

Song,  by  a  Lady, .• j03 

View  of  Young  Ladies'  Institute, jOe 

Oration  by  Mr.  Spencer, j07 

Ode,  by  Mrs.  F.  K.  Butler, ]33 

The  Stockbridge  Bowl,  by  Mrs.  Sigourney, ]39 

Song,  by  Mrs.  Sigourney, mi 

Ode,  by  Mrs.  L.  Hyde, ]4.1 

Public  Exercises— Singing, J47 

"          "         — Benediction, ].JS 

View  of  Dinner  Teat, ].')0 

Fac-simile  of  the  Dinner  Ticket, 151 

The  Dinner, j:>3 

Speech  of  Gov.  Briggs, ]'j3 

Speech  of  Hon.  M.  S.  Bidwell, 159 

DD 


211  INDEX. 

Paue. 

Sentiment,  by  Drake  Mills,  Esq 160 

Speech  of  Dr.  Holmes, ICl 

Poem,  by  Dr.  Holmes, 162 

Speech  of  Judge  Dewey, 164 

Sentiment,  by  Thomas  Allen,  Esq.,..w 166 

Speech  of  Hon.  John  Mills, 166 

Sentiment,  by  C.  B.  Gold,  of  Buffalo, 170 

Sentiment,  by  Reuel  Smith,  Esq., 170 

Speech  of  Theodore  Sedgwick,  Esq 170 

Speech  of  Mr.  Macready,  and  Poem, . .  < 172 

Speech  and  Sentiment  of  Mr.  Coldcn,  173 

Sentiment,  by  Dr.  Goodrich, 174 

Sentiment,  by  Pres.  Humphrey, 174 

Sentiment,  by  Josiah  Quincy,  of  New-Hampshire, 174 

Speech  of  D.  D.  Field,  Esq 174 

Speech  of  Prof.  Dewey,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y 176 

Song,  sung  by  Young  Men, 179 

Tribute  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Channing, ISO 

Sentiment,  by  J.  C.  Brigham,  D.  D 182 

Sentiment,  by  Hon.  Timothy  Childs,  of  Rochester, 182 

Sentiment,  by  Dr.  L.  A.  Smith,  of  Newark,  N.  J 183 

Sentiment,  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Hj-de,  of  Lee,  by  W.  P.  Palmer, 183 

Sentiment,  by  Silas  Metcalf,  of  Kinderhook,  N.  Y 183 

Sentiment,  by  T.  Joy,  of  Albany, 183 

Sentiment,  by  D.  C.  Whitewood,  of  Michigan, 184 

Sentiment,  by  Rev.  Joshua  N.  Danforth, 184 

Speech  of  Orville  Dewey,  D.  D 185 

Speech  of  Hon  Julius  Rockwell, 187 

Sentiment,  by  Mrs.  Sigourney, t 188 

Sentiment,  by  a  Young  Lady, 188 

Song,  composed  and  sung  by  the  Ladies  of  the  Institute, 189' 

Speech  of  Hon.  Judge  Betts,  Chairman  of  N .  Y.  Com 190 

Speech  of  Rev.  Mr.  Todd,  Chairman  Co.  Com 191 

The  Parting  at  the  Table, 192 

View  of  the  Village  of  Stockbridge, 194 

APPENDIX. 

Recollection  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians, 197 

View  of  the  Village  of  Lee, 208 

Literature  of  Berkshire, 209 

Metaphysical  Writers, 209 

Missionaries  of  Berkshire, 210 

Soldiers  and  Chaplains  of  Berkshire, 211 

Letter  from  Hon.  Mr.  Barnard, 214 

A  Berkshire  Family  Scene, 218 

View  of  the  village  of  Lenox, 224 

The  Last  Chapter  of  the  Chronicles  of  the  Berkshire  Jubilee, 225 

View  of  the  Village  of  Great  Barrington,  232 

Names  of  the  Emigrant  Sons, 233 


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